Lira Era Begins at First Pitch Invitational

This Week In Rattler Softball
DII First Pitch Invitational • Jan. 30-Feb. 1 • Conroe, Texas
(THERE WILL BE NO VIDEO STREAMING OF THE GAMES)

Lira Era Begins: The St. Mary's Softball team kicks off the 48th season on Friday with Head Coach Taylor Lira's first game in the Gold and Blue at the DII First Pitch Invitational against Mississippi College at 1:30 p.m.

First Pitch Invite: 2026 marks the fifth straight season and the seventh total time the Rattlers have competed at the DII First Pitch Invitational, though prior to 2023 it was called the Arkansas Tech Winter Invitational. The Rattlers are 16-14 in the six seasons in Conroe.

Season Openers: St. Mary's is 16-10 in season openers since joining the Division II ranks, and is looking to snap a two-game losing skid in the first game of the year when they face Mississippi College on Friday.

Tough Test Early: St. Mary's faces seven teams this season that made the 2025 NCAA Tournament, including two at the DII First Pitch Invitational in Mississippi College and Saint Martin's. The two opponents bookend the tournament for the Rattlers. The other five foes are all LSC teams (Angelo State, Lubbock Christian, Oklahoma Christian, UT Tyler, and West Texas A&M).

What We're Made Of: The St. Mary's roster is comprised of 27 student-athletes. Fourteen are returners, five are transfers and eight are freshmen. All 27 hail from the state of Texas and 10 of them are from San Antonio or the surrounding area (Bulverde, Floresville).

What's Returning: The Rattlers return 14 players off last season's team that finished 26-29, including senior Emily Ayala and junior Gabriela Banda, who were both named to the 2025 LSC All-Conference teams, and are listed as LSC Players to Watch in 2026. The Rattlers also return starters Miah Corona (1B), Abigail Dela Rosa (CF), and Raegan Tennill (3B).

They're Smart Too: A week ago, the LSC released the Commissioner's Honor Roll for the fall semester, and 20 softball student-athletes earned at least a 3.30 GPA, including Samiya Johnson, Jaylan Roberson and AJ Sanchez, who all posted a perfect 4.00 in the fall. The other who made the team are Emery Aguilar, Emily Ayala, Gabriela Banda, Miah Corona, Abigail Dela Rosa, Breanna Ford, Neveah Hallmark, Bella Magaro, Madison Magaro, Hannah Melendez, Iliana Melendez, Peyton Miers, Ariella Saenz, Raegan Tennill, Milliana Torrez, Bryley Westfahl and Emma Wilson.

For the Good of the Team: Raegan Tennill enters her final season for the Rattlers with 11 career sacrifice flies, which ties for second on the school's career charts. Vianna Gutierrez-Touchtone (2012-15) holds the school record with 12, while Christina Rodriguez (2010-13) is tied with Tennill with 11.

Middle of the Pack: St. Mary's was chosen in a vote by the LSC coaches, SIDs and media to finish ninth in the LSC standings. The Rattlers received 445 points. Two-time defending national champion UT Tyler was voted the favorite, while West Texas A&M, Angelo State, Oklahoma Christian and Lubbock Christian rounded out the top five.

Helping Hand: Junior infielder Gabriela Banda led the Lone Star Conference and ranked 18th in the nation in total assists last season with 133. Her 2.46 assists per game also ranked 34th nationally.

Peyton's Place: Of the eight freshmen on the 2026 roster, three of them share a first name. Peyton Miers, Peyton Perry, and Peyton Travis are all first-year players for the Rattlers. Miers and Travis also share a position, as both are catchers.

The Need for Speed: Senior Abigail Dela Rosa ranked sixth in the LSC and 28th in the nation a season ago with six triples. Her six three-baggers tie for the fourth most in a single season in St. Mary's history.

Sisters, Sisters: Freshman Bella Magaro and junior Madison Magaro become the first set of sisters to play at St. Mary's at the same time since Alex and Kat McLennan in 2021. The Magaro's are believed to be the seventh set of sisters to don the Gold and Blue, joining Jami & Staci Johns, Jenny & Mary Lagos, Alex & Kat McLennan, Leticia & Laura Morales, Destiny & Kristal Salinas and Sue & Theresa Urbanovsky. In addition, the Magaros are following in the footsteps of their mother and grandmother, who both played at St. Mary's, with the grandmother playing in the pre-AIAW days when it was still a club team.

Starting As You End: The Rattlers hope sophomore catcher Izabella Valdez begins her second year as she ended her first, with a hot bat. Valdez was named the final LSC Freshman of the Week during the regular season, hitting a pair of home runs and driving in nine of the team's 22 runs in the final week.  Four of those RBI came on a walkoff grand slam in game one against Texas A&M-Kingsville, her first grand slam of her collegiate career.