This Week in Rattlers Softball
St. Mary's at Midwestern State & #11 West Texas A&M
February 14 & 16 // Games 12-15 // Wichita Falls // Canyon
Broadcast: FloCollege
St. Mary's Rattlers
Record   5-6, 0-0 LSC
Ranking   NR
Head Coach   Ronnie Ladines
StMU Record   5-6 (1st Year)
Career Record   Same
Midwestern State
Record   3-6, 0-0 LSC
Ranking   NR
Head Coach   Brittanie Talley
MSU Record   38-118 (4th Year)
Career Record   Same
#11 West Texas A&M
Record   10-0, 0-0 LSC
Ranking   11
Head Coach   Michael Mook
WT Record   196-53 (6th Year)
Career Record   350-114 (10th Year)
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Starting Conference: The St. Mary's Softball team kicks off year six in the Lone Star Conference with doubleheaders at Midwestern State on Friday and at #11 West Texas A&M on Sunday. All four games will be broadcast on FloCollege.
Rebound: After going 1-4 in the opening week of the season, the Rattlers bounced back to go 4-2 in the second week, sweeping a doubleheader against MSU Denver and winning 2-of-3 against Colorado Christian.
It's An Honor: Senior pitcher Madeline Bloom earned Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week honors after going 2-0 in starts last week. In 15.0 innings, Bloom allowed only one earned run and teams hit .130 against her. In her relief appearance, Bloom needed only seven pitches in two innings of work.
Saving the Day: Senior Savannah Youngblood broke the St. Mary's career saves record on Friday against MSU Denver, earning the 10th of her career. She breaks Ashley Mills mark of nine from 2016-17. Youngblood collected four saves each in 2022 and 2024 and has two this year, which ranks fourth in the nation and is tied for the lead in the Lone Star Conference.
Getting Them Home: The Rattlers currently have three players ranked in the top 35 in the nation in RBIs as sophomore Gabriela Banda ranks 11th with 14, junior Raegan Tennill is 25th with 12 and junior Abigail Dela Rosa is 35th with 11 driven in. Overall, the Rattlers rank 13th in Division II with 61 RBIs.
A Burst of Speed: The Rattlers rank 12th in the nation, yet fourth in the Lone Star Conference, in triples this season with five. Junior Abigail Dela Rosa has four of them, leading the nation in that category, while junior Raegan Tennill hit the other. They are the first triples of Dela Rosa's career, while Tennill now has four. Dela Rosa tied the StMU single game record, hitting two triples in the season opener against Southeastern Oklahoma State.
Setting the Table: The trio of Lauren Gonzales, Abigail Dela Rosa and Raegan Tennill at the top of the batting order do a good job of getting things going for the Rattlers. The three upperclassmen have recorded 43 of the team's 91 hits this season (47.3%), hitting a combined .394 (43-for-109), and scored 37 of the team's 62 runs (59.7%).
Returning All-Conference: Senior Savannah Youngblood (RP) was named to the Lone Star All-Conference Second Team in 2024, while Lauren Gonzales (LF) was voted to the Third Team and Gabriela Banda (1B/DP) was honored on the All-Freshman team.
Picked Fifth: St. Mary's was selected in a tie for fifth place in the Lone Star Conference Preseason poll, announced by the league office. The Rattlers received 483 points to tie Lubbock Christian for fifth in the poll, voted on by the league's head coaches, athletic communications personnel and selected media. Defending National Champion UT Tyler received 34 of the 43 first-place votes and 672 points, while West Texas A&M garnered eight first-place nods and 642 points to finish second. Angelo State (590) and Oklahoma Christian (528) round out the top five in the 16-team league.
Speedy Gonzales: Senior LF Lauren Gonzales currently ranks fourth in stolen bases on the St. Mary's career charts with 80. She needs 17 to tie Taylor Vidrine (2012-15) for third.
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 six seasons ranked in the top 25, finishing 2024 ranked seventh. 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
2019Â Â Â 21Â Â Â 21
2020Â Â Â 2Â Â Â 13
2021Â Â Â 1Â Â Â 24
2022Â Â Â 22Â Â Â 21
2023Â Â Â 10Â Â Â 23
2024Â Â Â 7Â Â Â 25
2025Â Â Â 34Â Â Â 3Â Â Â
They're Smart Too: Jadyn Abrego, Lauren Gonzales, Raegan Tennill and Savannah Youngblood were all named to the CSC Academic All-District team last May. The honor evaluates a player's contributions on and off the field. To qualify, a player must have played at least one year at their current institution, maintain a 3.50 GPA, and be a starter or key reserve player. Abrego and Tennill are biology majors, while Gonzales is working on her MBA and Youngblood is a mechanical engineering major.
