This Week in Rattlers Softball
at Eastern New Mexico • March 13
at West Texas A&M • March 15
St. Mary's Rattlers
Record 17-8, 9-3 LSC
Head Coach Taylor Lira
StMU Record 17-8 (1st Year)
E. New Mexico Greyhounds
Record 9-10, 5-7 LSC
Head Coach Amanda Fefel
ENMU Record 109-121 (5th Year)
#2 West Texas A&M Lady Buffs
Record 21-3, 11-1 LSC
Head Coach Michael Mook
WT Record 264-64 (7th Year)
By The Numbers
5 St. Mary's enters the week on a five-game winning streak, the longest streak of the season, and tying the longest streak from a season ago. In two of the five wins, the Rattlers have thrown shutouts.
2-6 St. Mary's is 2-6 all-time against the #2-ranked team in the country, and are looking to snap a five-game losing streak. The last four times the Rattlers have faced the #2 team in the nation it has been West Texas A&M, dropping all four in 2024.
Long Trip: The St. Mary's Softball team takes on its longest road trip of the year as it travels to Portales, N.M. and Canyon, Texas for doubleheaders against Eastern New Mexico on Friday and #2 West Texas A&M on Sunday. The Lady Buffs are the first nationally-ranked team that the Rattlers have faced in 2026.
Last Time Out: St. Mary's swept the four-game homestand, winning 3-1 and 2-0 against Midwestern State on Friday, before defeating Lubbock Christian 5-0 and 4-2 on Sunday and Monday as the second game was postponed due to rain and lightning. The Rattlers moved to 9-3 in Lone Star Conference play and are tied for fourth place with two-time defending national champion UT Tyler.
A Shutout for You and You: Senior Breanna Ford became the fourth Rattler pitcher to throw a shutout this season when she defeated Midwestern State 2-0 on Friday. Ford allowed only two hits over the seven innings, striking out two and not walking a batter. She joins Emery Aguilar, Emily Ayala and Ariella Saenz on the shutout list. It is the first time in the school's Division II era that four different pitchers have thrown a complete game shutout, though in 1999 four pitchers through shutouts and all five hurlers were involved in a shutout during the year. On Sunday against Lubbock Christian, Saenz and Aguilar combined for a 5-0 shutout, the first combined shutout of the year.
Chaos on the Bases: St. Mary's has already stolen 66 bases in 2026, leading the Lone Star and ranking 22nd nationally with 2.52 stolen bases per game. The 66 swipes already ranks 17th on the St. Mary's single-season list for most steals. The record for the most swipes in a year is 128 by the 1990 team (128-140).
Taking The Extra Base: Bryley Westfahl leads the team with 22 steals, which is more than eight of the teams in the Lone Star, and ranks fifth in the nation among individuals. There are 13 players on the team with at least one stolen base and Iliana Melendez (9-9), Raegan Tennill (7-7), Abigail Dela Rosa (8-9), Gabriela Banda (4-4), Peyton Miers (4-4), and Miah Corona (3-3), have also successfully stolen three or more bases this season.
Setting the Table: Junior Bryley Westfahl is 18-for-42 (.429) this season when leading off an inning, while Iliana Melendez, the number two hitter in the lineup is 10-for-12 (.833) when the first batter in an inning. The Rattlers as a team are hitting at a .468 clip to begin the frame, up from .319 overall.
Back-to-Back Jacks: For the first time this season, a pair of St. Mary's hitters left the yard on consecutive at bats as Ariella Saenz and Izabella Valdez hit home runs in the seventh at Texas Woman's. It is the 34th time in the school's Division II era (2000-present) that players have hit back-to-back home runs in a game.
Banda with the Big Bat: Junior Gabriela Banda ranks fourth in the Lone Star Conference in batting average (.482), third in RBIs/game (1.42), sixth in doubles/gm (0.37), ninth in slugging percentage (.768) and 11th in on-base percentage (.508).
Closing In: Seniors Abigail Dela Rosa and Raegan Tennill are both closing in on hitting milestones. Dela Rosa is 10 hits shy of 100 for her career, while Tennill needs nine hits for 150 and four RBIs for 100. Gabriela Banda is also 13 RBI shy of 100 for her career.
On The Fly: St. Mary's leads the Lone Star and ranks sixth in all of Division II in sacrifice flies, hitting 13 through the first 25 games of the season. Gabriela Banda is 21st nationally with three, while Miah Corona, Raegan Tennill and Izabella Valdez all have two each, tying for 59th in the nation.
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 nine, ranking 21st out of 263 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).
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.
