Softball Wraps Up 10-Game Road Trip in Oklahoma

This Week in Rattlers Softball
St. Mary's at Oklahoma Christian & Cameron
April 16 & 18 // Games 48-51 // Edmond // Lawton
Broadcast: FloCollege
 

St. Mary's Rattlers
Record    23-24, 18-18 LSC
Ranking    NR
Head Coach    Ronnie Ladines
StMU Record    23-24 (1st Year)
Career Record    Same

Oklahoma Christian
Record    31-15, 24-12 LSC
Ranking    20
Head Coach    Shalee Rodriguez
OC Record    143-70 (4th Year)
Career Record    Same

Cameron
Record    23-21, 16-18 LSC
Ranking    NR
Head Coach    Bryan Howard
CU Record    850-154 (1st Year)
Career Record    70-83 (3rd Year)
 

Final Road Games: The St. Mary's Softball team wraps up a 10-game road trip this week, playing at No. 20 Oklahoma Christian on Wednesday and Cameron on Friday. They are the final four road games of the regular season for the Rattlers, as the team finishes with its last four at home.

A Look Back, OC: Oklahoma Christian won both games of the doubleheader, despite the Rattlers hitting three home runs in game two. Both Emily Ayala and Reagan Tennill drove in two runs. The Eagles hit .333 for the day with three doubles, two triples and two home runs.

A Look Back, CU: St. Mary's hit .340 over the two games, though 14 of the team's 17 hits were singles. Senior Lauren Gonzales was 4-for-5 at the plate, scoring four times and swiping two bags. Ariella Saenz and Savannah Youngblood each won in the circle, both working in relief, as five of the six pitchers saw action.

Shutting Down the Patriots: In two complete game victories this season against UT Tyler, senior pitcher Madeline Bloom has surrendered only one earned run and struck out nine. She is the only pitcher in the nation with two wins against them this season, as she's handed them two of their four losses.

Pouring It On: Abigail Dela Rosa added another triple to her total on Sunday at UT Tyler, giving her six on the season, and moving her into a tie for fourth on the St. Mary's single season charts. Dela Rosa is tied with six others, and is two shy of the school record of eight by Natalie Hill from 1999. Bari Christian holds the Division II era record with seven triples in a season-shortened 2021. Dela Rosa now has more triples than the entire rest of the team, as four others have combined to hit five.

Ranked Games: St. Mary's will play another two games this week against a nationally-ranked opponent. The team is 3-8 against teams in the top-25 of the NFCA Coaches Poll in 2025, with wins over #1, #3 and #4. The Rattlers are 3-1 all-time against teams ranked No. 20 in the nation. 

Going The Distance: In each of her last six starts, senior Madeline Bloom has pitched a complete game, and leads the team with nine on the season. She allowed only eight earned runs in those six starts (1.44 ERA) with 18 strikeouts. Bloom ranks eighth in the Lone Star Conference and 68th in the nation with a 1.96 ERA.

A Helping Hand: Sophomore Gabriela Banda continues to lead the Lone Star Conference in assists (111), which ranks her 16th in the nation. Her 2.41 assists per game rank second in the league and 40th nationally.

Early Runs: St. Mary's is 17-6 this season when scoring the first run of the game, and only 6-18 when the opponent scores first. In 21 of those 24 games, the run for the opposition has come in the first inning. StMU is 9-5 when they score in the first frame.

Youth Movement: Five freshmen have started at least 10 games this season, combining for 116 starts. Miah Corona leads the way, starting 41 games, while Jaylan Roberson has started 26, Izabella Valdez 21, Araceli Arevalo 16, and Milliana Torrez 12.

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 59th in the nation with a KPI of .176. That ranking is fifth among Lone Star Conference teams, trailing UT Tyler (1), West Texas A&M (10), Angelo State (24), and Oklahoma Christian (42). Nine of the 16 teams in the LSC rank within the top 100. 

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

Name    Category    Stat    Rank
Lauren Gonzales    Stolen Bases    91    9
Lauryn Ramos    Games Played    201    41
Savannah Youngblood    Saves    10    5

Youngblood also ranks 29th among all three Divisions, while Gonzales ranks 38th.

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.