Comeback in Game One Sparks Doubleheader Sweep Over Pioneers

DENTON, Texas — The St. Mary's University Softball team stretched its winning streak to five straight with a doubleheader sweep at Texas Woman's on Friday night. The Rattlers won 8-6 in the opener and carried the momentum to game two for a 4-1 victory.
 
The two teams conclude the series on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
GAME ONE RECAP
Late heroics by senior Mackenzie Dugi (St. Hedwig, Texas) led the Rattlers (23-18, 19-10 Lone Star) to a thrilling come-from-behind victory against her former coach. Dugi was 2-for-3 in the game with two walks and four RBI. She singled in the fourth to score Lauryn Ramos (Marion, Texas) from second to close the deficit to one, 5-4, and in the top of the seventh, she tripled to the gap in left-center field with the bases loaded to lift the team to the 8-6 win.
 
Fellow senior Lauren Gonzales (San Antonio) helped set the table for Dugi's heroics, going 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Ramos and senior Ericka Gomez (Stafford, Texas) were both 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
 
Junior Jamison Holder (Magnolia, Texas) also launched her fourth home run of the year, doing so in the fifth to continue to cut into the Pioneers (16-24, 14-15 Lone Star) lead after they scored the first five runs of the contest. Freshman Gabriella Banda (San Antonio) kick started the comeback in the fourth inning, doubling to right-center to score Gomez and Holder for the first two runs.
 
Junior Madeline Bloom (Poway, Calif.) started in the circle and pitched 1 1/3 innings before giving way to junior Savannah Youngblood (Kingwood, Texas), who improved to 8-2 after allowing two earned runs on three hits with three walks and one strikeout in 5 2/3 innings.
 
GAME TWO RECAP
The Rattlers kept the momentum going into game two, scoring four runs on six hits with three TWU errors while limiting the Pioneers to one run on four hits.
 
Junior Jadyn Abrego (San Antonio) surrendered one run on four hits with four walks in five innings to improve to 5-4. Senior Sara Robertson (Lorena, Texas) worked a scoreless sixth inning and turned it over to Youngblood in the seventh, who retired all three batters she faced for her third save of the season.
 
The save for Youngblood is the seventh of her career, moving her into a tie for third all-time with Brittny Ernst (2004). Youngblood is now only two saves away from knotting the StMU career record of nine held by Ashley Mills (2016-17).
 
Dugi and Gomez posted two hits each, while Gonzales and Banda had the other two in the nightcap. Dugi and Banda each doubled, while Dugi and Gomez each had an RBI.
 
The Rattlers scored two in the third, one in the fourth and one in the seventh, while the Pioneers plated their lone run in the sixth.