SAN ANTONIO — The St. Mary's University Softball team put together a late rally in game two of a doubleheader against cross-town foe Our Lady of the Lake, but it wasn't enough as the Rattlers dropped both games, 7-2 and 9-6 on Tuesday evening.
In the first game, the Rattlers (9-6) recorded seven hits, but only scored two runs with senior
Raegan Tennill (Corpus Christi, Texas) and junior
Gabriela Banda (San Antonio) each driving in one in the first inning as StMU jumped out to a 2-0 lead. The Saints (7-1) scored seven unanswered runs from the third through the seventh innings behind a complete game from Annika Litterio.
St. Mary's once again scored two runs in the first inning of the second game on a home run by the birthday girl, Tennill. OLLU answered with two crooked innings, plating nine runs in the third and fourth for a 9-2 advantage.
In the fifth inning, the Rattlers got three runs back. Freshman
Peyton Miers (San Antonio) got things started with a walk. Junior
Bryley Westfahl (San Antonio) singled between the third baseman and shortstop, and junior
Iliana Melendez (Seabrook, Texas) laid down a great bunt. She beat out the throw for a single, but the throw went wide, allowing both runs to score and Melendez to hustle to third base. Tennill and Melendez pulled off a successful squeeze play, as Tennill laid down the bunt back toward the circle but on the first base side, allowing Melendez to slide in safely to cut the deficit to four, 9-5.
Junior
Emery Aguilar (Georgetown, Texas) worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the sixth, getting the offense back to work. With two outs, Miers drew her second consecutive base on balls, moved to second on a single down the first base line by Westfahl, and scored on a single to right field by Melendez, but the Rattlers were unable to plate any more for the 9-6 final.
Westfahl was 4-for-7 with three runs scored and two stolen bases. Melendez was 3-for-7 with a run scored and an RBI, while Tennill was 2-for-8 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Sophomore
Miah Corona (Eddy, Texas) had a hit in each game to go 2-for-7, while senior
Abigail Dela Rosa (La Grange, Texas) went 2-for-5.
The doubleheader concludes the non-conference season for the Rattlers. They host Western New Mexico for an LSC doubleheader on Friday beginning at 3 p.m. and play Sul Ross State on Sunday beginning at noon for NCAA Division II Day.
