ODESSA, Texas — Pitchers
Emily Ayala and
Madeline Bloom continued to pitch well for the St. Mary's University Softball team, as the team swept a doubleheader at UT Permian Basin on Friday, winning 9-1 in five innings and 8-0 in six innings.
The Rattlers improve to 11-10 overall and 6-4 in Lone Star Conference action with the wins, while the Falcons fall to 5-15 on the year and 0-10 in league play.
Both pitchers worked complete games, with Bloom (Poway, Calif.) recording her second shutout of the season with a one-hitter in the 8-0 nightcap and Ayala (San Antonio) only allowed one run on three hits in the opener. The two have 10 of the team's 11 wins in the circle, are a combined 10-1 on the season, and both have an ERA under two.
St. Mary's remains on the road, playing at Lone Star Conference newcomer Sul Ross State on Sunday at Noon in a doubleheader.
GAME ONE RECAP
The Rattlers were hot early on Thursday, scoring six runs in the top of the first inning on four hits, three walks and two hit batters. The Falcons scored one in the second and StMU answered with three in the fourth for the 9-1 final.
The six-run first inning was already the eighth time this season the team has scored five or more runs in an inning.
Freshman
Izabella Valdez (San Antonio) and senior left fielder
Lauren Gonzales (San Antonio) each recorded two hits, as the Rattlers scored their nine runs on seven hits and were aided by two UTPB errors. Valdez also drove in three runs, while senior
Lauryn Ramos (Marion, Texas) added two more.
GAME TWO RECAP
St. Mary's used a pair of four-run innings and only allowed four base runners to shut out the Falcons, 6-0, for the team's fourth shutout of the season.
It is the sixth time in nine appearances this spring that Bloom has recorded multiple strikeouts, as she fanned five in the six frames.
Ayala blasted her fourth home run of the season, hitting a three-run shot in the sixth after doubling in the fourth to drive in the fourth run of that inning. Junior
Abigail Dela Rosa (La Grange, Texas), Valdez and Gonzales added two-hit games as the Rattlers scored eight runs on 12 hits.
