This Week in Rattlers Softball
Western New Mexico & Eastern New Mexico at St. Mary's
February 22-23 // Games 16-20 // San Antonio // The Park at StMU
Broadcast: FloCollege • Play-by-Play: Dan Hawkins
St. Mary's Rattlers
Record   7-8, 2-2 LSC
Ranking   NR
Head Coach   Ronnie Ladines
StMU Record   7-8 (1st Year)
Career Record   Same
Western New Mexico
Record   4-9, 1-3 LSC
Ranking   NR
Head Coach   Ashley Hickman
WNMU Record   29-127 (4th Year)
Career Record   114-291 (10th Year)
Eastern New Mexico
Record   10-4, 3-1 LSC
Ranking   NR
Head Coach   Amanda Fefel
ENMU Record   80-90 (4th Year)
Career Record   Same
Schedule Adjustments: With the cold weather blowing through the state of Texas, the doubleheader against Western New Mexico scheduled for Friday has been moved to Saturday at 12 and 2 p.m.
Coming Home: St. Mary's hosts the two New Mexico schools to kick off the home portion of the Lone Star slate. The Rattlers host Western New Mexico on Saturday and Eastern New Mexico on Sunday. All four games will be broadcast on FloCollege.
History Against This Week's Opponents:
      WNMU   ENMU
Series   14-9   19-8
Home   7-0   15-2
   The Park at StMU   5-0   8-2
Away   3-6   3-1
Neutral Location   4-3   1-5
Extra Innings   0-0   1-2
With StMU in top-25*Â Â Â 4-1Â Â Â 4-3
vs. top-25 Opponent*Â Â Â 0-0Â Â Â 0-0
Ronnie Ladines Era   0-0   0-0
Longest Winning Streak   7   7
Longest Losing Streak   3   3
Current Streak   L1   W2
*NCAA DII Era Only
Hitting for Average: After the first week of Lone Star play, the Rattlers rank third in the league, hitting .353, trailing only top-10 teams UT Tyler (.488) and West Texas A&M (.355). Sophomore Gabriela Banda leads the team with a .538 average in conference play, while Mene'e Padilla is 3-for-5 (.600) and Izabella Valdez is 3-for-6 (.500) in limited at bats.
Hitting for Power: Junior Emily Ayala blasted home runs in back-to-back games at Midwestern State and now leads the team with three, while sophomore Gabriella Banda hit the first home run against WT this season, giving her two on the year.
In Full Bloom: Senior pitcher Madeline Bloom leads the team with a 1.66 ERA and ranks ninth in the LSC in both ERA and complete games (2).
Juniors Shine: The five juniors on the roster have accounted for 39.8 percent of the team's hits through the first three weeks of the season. Seniors have accumulated 23.3 percent, freshmen 21.1 percent, and the three sophomores make up the final 15.8 percent.
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 80 in the nation in RBIs as sophomore Gabriela Banda ranks 14th with 17, junior Raegan Tennill is 21st with 16 and junior Abigail Dela Rosa is 80th with 12 driven in. Overall, the Rattlers rank 14th in Division II with 81 RBIs.
Flashing the Leather: In addition to her strong bat to start the season, sophomore Gabriela Banda currently leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks eighth nationally with 37 assists in the field. Banda has split time at second base and shortstopÂ
A Burst of Speed: The Rattlers rank 26th in the nation, yet seventh in the Lone Star Conference, in triples this season with five. Junior Abigail Dela Rosa has four of them, ranking second in 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.
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 81. She needs 16 to tie Taylor Vidrine (2012-15) for third.
