Softball Continues LSC Play at Home

This Week In Rattlers Softball
Western New Mexico • Feb. 20 • 3 & 5 p.m. • The Park at StMU
Sul Ross State • Feb. 22 • 12 & 2 p.m. • The Park at StMU

St. Mary's Rattlers
Record    9-6, 1-1 LSC
Head Coach    Taylor Lira
StMU Record    9-6 (1st Year)

W. New Mexico Mustangs
Record    6-6, 2-0 LSC
Head Coach    Ashley Hickman
WNMU Record    47-161 (5th Year)

Sul Ross State Lobos
Record    2-7, 0-2 LSC
Head Coach    Lacey Middlebrooks
SRS Record    2-7 (1st Year)

By The Numbers
10 St. Mary's has 10 sacrifice flies already in 2026, leading both the Lone Star Conference and all of NCAA Division II. The single season record at St. Mary's is 30 sacrifice flies by the 2023 team.
2.67 The Rattlers are averaging 2.67 stolen bases per game, the second-highest average in the LSC behind 2.80 by Angelo State.
42 Senior SS Raegan Tennill leads the nation in assists with 42, while junior 2B Bryley Westfahl ranks 19th nationally with 31 assists.

 

Home Sweet Home: The St. Mary's Softball team remains at home, hosting Western New Mexico on Friday and Sul Ross State on Saturday. The Rattlers swept both teams last season.

Last Time Out: St. Mary's split a doubleheader with St. Edward's in the Lone Star Conference opener for both teams on Sunday, winning 7-0 before dropping game two 7-4. On Tuesday, the Rattlers lost both games of a doubleheader to Our Lady of the Lake, 7-2 and 9-6. 

Saenz Shutout: Senior pitcher Ariella Saenz threw her first shutout of the season in the 7-0 win over St. Edward's on Sunday. Saenz joins Emery Aguilar, who shutout Harding on Feb. 6, 11-0. The Rattlers rank third in the Lone Star and 20th in the nation with two shutouts.

On The Fly: St. Mary's leads the nation in sacrifice flies, hitting 10 through the first 15 games of the season. Gabriela Banda, Miah Corona, Raegan Tennill and Izabella Valdez all have two each, tying for 16th in the nation. The Rattlers are tied with Colorado Christian for the lead.

Hitting A Century: In game two against St. Edward's, junior third baseman Gabriela Banda recorded the 100th hit of her career, and she now has 101, ranking second among active players behind senior Raegan Tennill (130).

Have Yourself A Birthday: Senior Raegan Tennill hit her second home run of the season in the first inning of game two against OLLU on Tuesday, on her birthday. Tennill hit one home run in each of her first three seasons with the Rattlers and now has five for her career.

What Are The Odds?: St. Mary's has scored 53 of its 72 runs (73.6%) in the odd-numbered innings, scoring 15 each in the third and fifth frames, while they have scored seven in both the second and fourth innings for the most in even-numbered.

Taking The Extra Base: St. Mary's is already 39-for-41 in stolen bases through the first 15 games, ranking fifth in the nation. Junior Bryley Westfahl leads the team with 17 swipes, which is more than 13 of the teams in the Lone Star, and ranks second in the nation among individuals. Iliana Melendez (6-6), Raegan Tennill (4-4), Miah Corona (3-3), and Abigail Dela Rosa (3-3) have also successfully stolen multiple bases this season.

Double Trouble: Head Coach Taylor Lira wants the tradition of St. Mary's ranking among the best in the nation in double plays to continue. In five of the last six seasons the Rattlers have ranked in the top 40 in Division II in double plays, including ranking third in 2021. This year's team has already turned six, leading the Lone Star and ranking 11th out of 216 teams.

Made To Be Broken: Senior Raegan Tennill entered her final season with 11 sacrifice flies in her career, needing two more to break the record, and did it in the first week. Tennill had sacrifice flies against both Mississippi College and Simon Fraser, breaking the school record of 12 held by Vianna Gutierrez-Touchtone (2012-15).

Early Leads: St. Mary's is 7-3 this season when scoring the first run of the game and 2-3 when the opponent scores first. However, the Rattlers have also been good late, winning two games in walkoff fashion in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Brought Big Bat: Junior college transfer Iliana Melendez brought a big bat with her from San Jacinto. After hitting .409 last year for the perennial powerhouse team, Melendez is hitting .391 this season for the Rattlers with an .522 slugging percentage and a .440 on-base percentage. Melendez has two doubles and two triples among her team-best 18 hits, and has stolen six bases.

Walkoff Times Two: Senior Raegan Tennill was at the plate for both of St. Mary's walkoff victories. Against Southeastern Oklahoma, Tennill found the gap in right center to score both Emery Aguilar and Bryley Westfahl, while against Chadron State, Tennill hit a sharp grounder to the right side, that was overthrown by the second baseman, plating freshman Peyton Miers.

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).

They're Smart Too: The LSC recently 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 others 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.