Softball Begins Six Game Homestand on Saturday

This Week in Rattlers' Softball
UT Tyler & Texas Woman's at St. Mary's
March 29 & 31 // Games 36-39 // San Antonio // The Park at StMU
Broadcast: FloCollege • Play-by-Play: Dan Hawkins

St. Mary's Rattlers
Record    19-16, 14-10 LSC
Ranking    NR
Head Coach    Ronnie Ladines
StMU Record    19-16 (1st Year)
Career Record    Same

UT Tyler
Record    31-2, 22-2 LSC
Ranking    1
Head Coach    Mike Reed
UTT Record    845-153 (21st Year)
Career Record    950-185 (24th Year)

Texas Woman's
Record    15-15, 11-13 LSC
Ranking    NR
Head Coach    Gay McNutt
TWU Record    65-72 (3rd Year)
Career Record    693-738 (26th Year)

South for the Week: The St. Mary's Softball team begins a six-game homestand this week before embarking on a 10-game road trip, the longest of the season. The Rattlers host No. 1 UT Tyler on Saturday, Texas Woman's on Monday, and will celebrate the career of legendary coach Donna Fields on Friday, April 4 against rival St. Edward's.

History Against This Week's Opponents:
        UTT    TWU
Series    0-11    39-20
Home    0-5    17-5
    The Park at StMU    0-5    10-3
Away    0-6    16-10
Neutral Location    0-0    6-5
Extra Innings    0-0    4-1
With StMU in top-25*    0-0    19-6
vs. top-25 Opponent*    0-11    7-4
Ronnie Ladines Era    0-0    0-0
Longest Winning Streak    0    9
Longest Losing Streak    11    4
Current Streak    L11    L1
*NCAA DII Era Only

Eight Is Great: Mene'e Padilla became the eighth different Rattler to hit a home run this season, blasting a three-run shot at Texas A&M International on Friday. This is the third straight season the Rattlers have had eight players hit round-trippers. In 2022, 12 players left the yard for the most in the Lone Star era of the team.

For the Good of the Team: Both Emily Ayala and Gabriela Banda are currently tied for the team lead with three sacrifice flies. They each need one more to tie for 10th on the St. Mary's single season list. The school record for sacrifice flies in a season is seven by Reba Reyes in 2023.

Youth Movement: In the two games against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Sunday the Rattlers had four freshmen in the starting lineup in Araceli Arevalo (2B), Miah Corona (1B), Jaylan Roberson (RF) and Izabella Valdez (C). The eight freshmen on the roster have combined to make 89 starts this season, led by Corona's 33. 

Facing Number One: St. Mary's is 6-12 all-time against the top-ranked team in the nation, last winning in 2019 against #1 Angelo State, 2-1. The Rattlers have three wins over the Rambelles when they're #1, while they also have two against West Texas A&M and one versus Central Oklahoma, all since 2009. The Rattlers are 0-2 against UT Tyler when the Patriots hold the top spot in the rankings (2022).

Flirting With 400: Both senior Lauren Gonzales and Izabella Valdez are hitting .396 for the season, oh so close to .400.  The last player to end a season hitting above .400 was Raynelle Nash in 2017. Nash hit .403, starting all 60 games with 17 of her 75 hits going for extra bases.

KPI: The KPI is a metrics system that ranks teams' resumes on a game-by-game basis used by the NCAA for seeding purposes. The Rattlers currently rank 53rd in the nation with a KPI of .167. That ranking is fifth among Lone Star Conference teams, trailing UT Tyler (3), West Texas A&M (7), Angelo State (14), and Oklahoma Christian (42). Nine of the 16 teams in the LSC rank within the top 100.

Getting the Hits: St. Mary's currently ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and 20th in the nation with 310 hits. West Texas A&M leads the LSC with 357, which is second in all of Division II.

Either Side: It doesn't matter which side of second base Gabriela Banda plays on, the ball seems to find her. Banda has started the last three games at shortstop, but still ranks eighth in the nation with 94 assists. Banda also ranks 36th nationally with 11 doubles and is tied for 43rd with three sacrifice flies. 

Offense & Defense: Emily Ayala has been getting it done at the plate and in the circle this season. The junior leads the team with a 7-1 record, pitching three complete games. Opponents are hitting .250 against her and she sports a .249 ERA. Offensively, she is hitting .349, leads the team with five home runs and is third on the team with 26 RBIs.

Career Achievements: Three seniors currently rank among the top 50 in Division II career active leaders.

Name    Category    Stat    Rank
Lauren Gonzales    Stolen Bases    90    8
Lauryn Ramos    Games Played    189    44
Savannah Youngblood    Saves    10    5

Youngblood also ranks 26th among all three Divisions, while Gonzales ranks 29th.

Fresh Honor: After hitting .545 over the four games at UTPB and SRS with two doubles, three RBIs and 18 putouts, catcher/designated player Izabella Valdez was named the Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Week. She is the first-ever Rattler to win the newly created award.

It's An Honor: Senior pitcher Madeline Bloom earned Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Week honors after going 2-0 in starts in the South Central Regional Crossover. 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 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.