Lone Star Conference Play • Tyler, Texas • Irwin Ballpark
#5 UT Tyler (40-7, 31-5)
Tues., Apr 23, 2&4 p.m. • Wed., Apr 24, 1 p.m.
Series History: 0-7
Home: 0-5
Away: 0-2
Neutral: 0-0
Extra Innings: 0-0
Longest W Streak: 0
Longest L Streak: 7
Current Streak: L7
First Pitch
• St. Mary's wraps up the regular season with a long road trip and six games in five days as they head to UT Tyler for a Tuesday-Wednesday series before heading on to a Friday-Saturday set at Eastern New Mexico.
• The Rattlers are looking for their first-ever win against UT Tyler as they are 0-7 over the past three seasons.
• St. Mary's recorded its third shutout of the year with a 6-0 victory in the series finale against Oklahoma Christian to give the Rattlers their fourth-straight series win. OC won the opening game 2-1 but StMU bounced back to win game two, 3-2. Sophomore Raegan Tennill hit .500 for the week with three hits and four of the team's seven RBI. She also drew three walks. In the circle, Madeline Bloom and Savannah Youngblood each got a win without allowing a run. StMU pitchers held the Eagles to a .186 batting average.
• The Rattlers are one victory shy of giving Head Coach Donna Fields her 25th 30-win season in 27 years with the team. The two times she didn't hit the 30 win milestone were the two seasons shortened by the Covid pandemic, 2020 and 2021.
In the National Rankings: St. Mary's ranks in the top 50 in the DII statistics in several categories:
Category Rank Total
Double Plays 18 20
On-Base % 50 .393
Sacrifice Bunts 6 49
Stolen Bases 28 91
Walks 4 214
Eight Is Great: Junior Savannah Youngblood has four saves this season and eight in her career, moving into a tie for second all-time at St. Mary's with Alex McLennan (2018-21). Youngblood is one shy of tying the school record of nine held by Ashley Mills (2016-17).
Not A Stat You Want To Lead: Senior CF Reba Reyes was hit by another pitch in game one against Midwestern State, giving her 20 for her career. That moves her within three of tying Syndey Wellmann for the record with 23 HBP (2015-16).
Sacrificing for the Team: Senior 2B Ericka Gomez has 33 sacrifice bunts in her career, tying her for 10th on the St. Mary's career chart with Kelli Smith (1994-97). Gomez currently leads the Lone Star and ranks 30th in the nation with 0.27 sacrifice bunts per game.
Tough Schedule: St. Mary's has six opponents on the 2024 schedule either ranked or receiving votes in Week 10 of the NFCA poll and five of those are in the top 10 (#1 West Texas A&M, #5 UT Tyler, #7 Colorado Christian, #8 Rogers State, #9 Pittsburg State).
In Rare Company: Senior Reba Reyes is one of only three players in St. Mary's history with 15 or more home runs and more than 40 stolen bases.
Player HR SB Yrs
Taylor Vidrine 37 97 2012-15
Miranda Medina 15 45 2014-17
Reba Reyes 15 43 2021-24
Speedy Gonzales: Senior LF Lauren Gonzales currently ranks fourth in stolen bases on the St. Mary's career charts with 77. She passed Jennifer Zapalac (1988-91) for fourth and needs 20 to tie Taylor Vidrine (2012-15) for third. Gonzales is the only two-year player to rank in the top 10 in school history. She recently announced she will return for her fifth year, and has a chance at the all-time record of 123 by Tiffani Craft (2003-06). Gonzales also ranks fifth on the single season steals list with 35 this season, needing nine more to tie Shannon Tigner (1990) for the record with 44.
No Hits For You - Times Two: So. Breanna Ford became the second Rattler this season to pitch a no-hitter, doing so on April 13 against Midwestern State. Ford gave up an unearned run off a throwing error of her own to first base, but struck out three. Jr. Madeline Bloom threw the first one of the season at Cameron on March 13, where she walked three and struck out one. It is the first time since 2013 the Rattlers have had two different pitchers throw a no-hitter in the same season. On Feb. 16, 2013 both Crystal Keller (vs CSU-Pueblo) and Vianna Gutierrez (at Angelo State) threw five-inning no-hitters.
Turning Two: St. Mary's historically ranks as one of the best in Division II in turning double plays. The Rattlers have ended each of the last five seasons ranked in the top 25 and this year they rank 11th.
Year Rank # DPs
2019 21 21
2020 2 13
2021 1 24
2022 22 21
2023 10 23
2024 18 20
Back-to-Back: Twice this season senior CF Reba Reyes has hit home runs in back-to-back at bats. She is the 14th player in St. Mary's history to leave the yard in consecutive at bats. She is also the sixth player to go back-to-back on multiple occasions. Jared Gonzalez accomplished the feat four times, while Elizabeth Beyer did it three times.
It's An Honor: Both Sr. CF Reba Reyes and Jr. P Savannah Youngblood have been rewarded by the Lone Star Conference with a weekly award this season. Reyes was named the hitter of the week on March 11 after hitting .600 in the series against Lubbock Christian where four of her six hits went for extra bases. Youngblood earned pitcher of the week on March 4 after winning two games and adding a save in three appearances against St. Edward's and Texas A&M International. She retired 17 straight Hilltoppers, allowing only one hit in 6.1 innings and didn't allow a run in the three appearances.
They're Smart Too: A total of 19 of the 22 players on the 2024 roster were named to the Lone Star Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll in the fall. Senior P Sara Robertson also earned a 4.00 GPA in the fall. To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must have a minimum 3.30 GPA for the semester.
