SAN ANTONIO — After No. 1 UT Tyler defeated the St. Mary's University Softball team in the first game of the doubleheader 6-1, the Rattlers used a two-out rally in the fourth inning and a stellar performance in the circle to win game two, 1-0 and earn the split.
The win snaps a 12-game losing skid against the Patriots (32-3, 23-3) and is the first one in the five-year series between the clubs. It also snaps a 15-game winning streak for UT Tyler and marks the first time they've been held scoreless since the Lone Star Conference Championship game on May 4, 2024.
St. Mary's (20-17, 15-11) became the first unranked team to defeat the Patriots in over a year, as they last lost to Eastern New Mexico on March 23, 2024. UTT only has three losses in that time frame, with two coming at the hands of West Texas A&M (#2 and #8) and one to then-#5 Angelo State.
The series split is the third straight for St. Mary's, as they split with both Texas A&M International and Texas A&M-Kingsville last week.
St. Mary's welcomes Texas Woman's to town on Monday for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. The Pioneers were swept by St. Edward's on Saturday afternoon.
Game One Recap
The Rattlers collected seven hits off the Patriots pitchers in the first game but stranded eight runners on base in the 6-1 loss. On the flip side, UT Tyler scored its six runs on eight hits with one StMU error.
Senior
Lauren Gonzales (San Antonio) was 2-for-4 at the plate, while junior Reagan Tennill (Corpus Christi, Texas) drove in the lone run, doubling to left-centerfield in the fifth inning following an
Abigail Dela Rosa (La Grange, Texas) single to make the score 3-1.
The Patriots scored one in the first, two in the fifth and three in the seventh to hand junior
Emily Ayala (San Antonio) only her second loss of the season. Ayala pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing five earned runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
Ariella Saenz (Pharr, Texas) faced two batters, giving up one hit before getting a lineout to right field to end the threat.
Game Two Recap
Senior
Madeline Bloom (Poway, Calif.) improved to 7-3 on the year with the complete game shutout. She surrendered four hits with two walks and three strikeouts, including one in the seventh for the second out.
In the fourth inning, with two outs, junior
Arianna (AJ) Sanchez (San Antonio) drove a ball through the left side of the infield. Senior
Lauryn Ramos (Marion, Texas) followed with a sharply hit ball through the right side, and Dela Rosa smashed a double to the gap in left center to score Sanchez.
Dela Rosa ended the game 2-for-2, as she also beat out an infield hit to the shortstop in the third.
