SAN ANTONIO — Emotions ran the entire gamut for fans at the St. Mary's University Softball doubleheader on Thursday evening as the Rattlers (24-29, 19-23) split a doubleheader with Texas A&M-Kingsville.
After seeing senior pitcher
Madeline Bloom (Poway, Calif.) leave the game with an apparent injury to her throwing arm, and the team losing the lead shortly thereafter, fans sat stunned in their seats as the game moved to the bottom of the seventh inning with the Javelinas (23-30) leading 6-3.
Junior
Emily Ayala (San Antonio) was plunked in the leg by the first pitch, freshman
Araceli Arevalo (Houston) pinch ran for her, and hustled to second base on a wild pitch. Sophomore
Gabriela Banda (San Antonio) drew a walk after seeing eight pitches, and freshman
Jaylan Roberson (Elgin, Texas) pinch ran for her. Both Arevalo and Roberson moved up 60 feet on a wild pitch, and freshman
Miah Corona (Eddy, Texas) walked to load the bases. Sophomore
Samiya Johnson (Corpus Christi, Texas) pinch ran, and all three were able to jog around the bases when freshman
Izabella Valdez (San Antonio) hit a walk-off grand slam to left center. Valdez fouled off three pitches before hitting the second home run of her collegiate career.
Valdez drove in six of the team's seven RBIs in the game, going 2-for-4. Senior
Lauren Gonzales (San Antonio) was also 2-for-4 as the Rattlers scored seven runs on seven hits with six walks and a hit batter. Junior
Ariella Saenz (Pharr, Texas) improved to 4-7 on the year after pitching 1/3 of an inning in relief.
It is the eighth walk-off grand slam in the Division II era of St. Mary's softball, and the second against the Javelinas (Ashley Boedeker, 9th inning, May 11, 2002). It is also the second grand slam of the season for the Rattlers, as Reagan Tennill (Corpus Christi) hit one against Our Lady of the Lake on Feb. 5.
The second game was a pitcher's duel, as the Javelinas bookended their runs, scoring one in the first and one in the seventh inning, while the Rattlers scored in the third. Juniors
Abigail Dela Rosa (La Grange, Texas) and Tennill hit back-to-back singles to kick off the inning. Ayala was hit by a pitch for the second time on the day and Banda hit into a fielder's choice that erased Tennill off the base paths but allowed Dela Rosa to score to knot the game.
Gonzales added another two hits, going 2-for-4, and swiped two bases.
Ayala pitched the entire game, giving up one earned run on four hits with three walks and a strikeout to move to 7-6 on the year.
The Rattlers will celebrate Senior Day on Sunday in the final games of the regular season against Texas A&M International. The Dustdevils will play at St. Edward's on Friday before coming to San Antonio for a doubleheader at 1 p.m. The festivities for the seniors on the roster will take place between games.
