Softball Heads to NCAA Regionals in Tyler

NCAA South Central Regional • Tyler, Texas • Irwin Ballpark

#3 UT Tyler (48-8)
Thursday, May 9 • 2:30 p.m.
Series History: 0-10
Home: 0-5
Away: 0-5
Neutral: 0-0
Extra Innings: 0-0
Longest W Streak: N/A
Longest L Streak: 10
Current Streak: L10

#11 Colo. Christian or #25 Colo. Mesa
Friday, May 10 • 12 or 2:30 p.m.
Game 5 • Friday, May 10 • 5 p.m.
Game 6 • Saturday, May 11 • 2:30 p.m.
Game 7 (If Necessary) • Saturday, May 11 • 5 p.m.

First Pitch

•    St. Mary's earned an at-large berth to its 18th NCAA South Central Regional in the 24 year NCAA Division II history of the program. The Rattlers will face third-ranked UT Tyler in the opening game, looking for their first-ever win over the Patriots.

•    St. Mary's is 38-24 all-time in the NCAA Regional and has won at least one game in 15 of the 17 years they've qualified. The Rattlers are 1-2 in the opening weekend against the other three teams in the pod, with a 1-0 mark against Colorado Mesa (2001) and they were 0-2 last year against Colorado Christian. For a complete breakdown of the Rattlers in the NCAA Regionals, see page 9 of these notes.

•    The Rattlers reached the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Championship before falling to eventual champion, West Texas A&M. Senior 2B Ericka Gomez was named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts.

•    For the 25th time in 27 seasons, a Donna Fields coached Rattlers team has reached 30 victories. The only 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    6    25
Hits    49    437
On-Base %    42    .396
Runs Scored    49    295
Sacrifice Bunts    6    58
Stolen Bases    38    94
Walks    5    241

All-Conference: Both seniors Ericka Gomez (2B) and Reba Reyes (CF) were honored on the Lone Star All-Conference First Team. Savannah Youngblood (RP) was named to the Second Team and Lauren Gonzales (LF) was voted to the Third Team. Gabriela Banda (1B/DP) was honored on the All-Freshman team and Reyes earned Gold Glove honors.

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 a pitch twice in the series at Eastern New Mexico, giving her 22 for her career. The next time she is plunked, she will tie Syndey Wellmann for the St. Mary's career record with 23 HBP (2015-16).

Sacrificing for the Team: Senior 2B Ericka Gomez has 36 sacrifice bunts in her career, placing her 6th on the St. Mary's career chart. She passes both Sade Moore (2006-09) and Hannah Michel (2015-18) who had 35. Gomez leads the Lone Star and ranks 19th in the nation with 0.25 sacrifice bunts per game.

Tough Schedule: St. Mary's has six opponents on the 2024 schedule either ranked or receiving votes in Week 13 of the NFCA poll and four of those are in the top 10 (#1 West Texas A&M, #3 UT Tyler, #5 Pittsburg State, #10 Rogers 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

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.

Speedy Gonzales: Senior LF Lauren Gonzales currently ranks fourth in stolen bases on the St. Mary's career charts with 79. She passed Jennifer Zapalac (1988-91) for fourth and needs 18 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 fourth on the single season steals list with 37 this year, needing seven more to tie Shannon Tigner (1990) for the record with 44.

No Hits For You - Times Two: 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.  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 6th. The 25 double plays also tied for the sixth-most in school history, knotting the 2016 team. The single season record is 34 by the 2014 club.

Year    Rank    # DPs
2019    21    21
2020    2    13
2021    1    24
2022    22    21
2023    10    23
2024    6    25    

It's An Honor: Both Sr. CF Reba Reyes and Jr. P Savannah Youngblood were rewarded by the Lone Star Conference with a weekly award. 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.