This Week In Rattlers Softball
at Oklahoma Christian • March 28 • at Cameron • March 29
St. Mary's Rattlers
Record 18-15, 10-10 LSC
Head Coach Taylor Lira
StMU Record 18-15 (1st Year)
Oklahoma Christian Eagles
Record 26-7, 18-4 LSC
Head Coach Shalee Rodriguez
OC Record 176-83 (5th Year)
Cameron Aggies
Record 16-17, 9-13 LSC
Head Coach Bryan Howard
CU Record 45-41 (2nd Year)
By The Numbers
5 St. Mary's has five players who have recorded 30 or more hits through the first 33 games of the season. Raegan Tennill leads the team with 35, while Miah Corona has 33, Iliana Melendez has 32, Gabriela Banda has 31 and Bryley Westfahl has 30.
73 The Rattlers have stolen 73 bases this season, ranking 15th in the nation and second in the Lone Star Conference, one off the league lead by West Texas A&M. The 2.21 per game average also ranks 29th in Division II.
Altered Schedule: The St. Mary's Softball team heads to Oklahoma for four games, playing two games at Oklahoma Christian on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. and two at Cameron on Sunday at 1 p.m. The games against the Eagles were pushed back due to scheduled high winds in the area.
Last Time Out: St. Mary's dropped all four games on the homestand, falling 3-2 and 6-1 to Texas Woman's and 7-4 and 9-1 to UT-Tyler on Sunday. Junior Bryley Westfahl had a great series against the Patriots, going 4-for-7 and scoring two of the team's five runs, while Gabriela Banda was 3-for-6 with two doubles. Sophomore Izabella Valdez hit her second home run of the year against the Pioneers on Friday.
Seeing the Plate: Senior Ariella Saenz has struck out only three times in 63 at bats this season. She is hitting .254 on the year, and has only one K in her last 17 at bats.
Every Good Thing Must Come to an End: Sophomore Miah Corona snapped a 12-game streak of reaching base in game two against UT Tyler on Sunday. Corona's streak was the longest of her career, and the second-longest among active Rattlers trailing only Gabriela Banda's 15.
In the Standings: St. Mary's is currently locked in a three-way tie for eighth place in the Lone Star Conference standings with six weeks left in the regular season. The Rattlers, Eastern New Mexico and Western New Mexico are all 10-10 and StMU split the first series with each and has a doubleheader remaining with WNMU on April 26.
Two-Out Rally: The left side of the infield has done a great job at the plate with two outs this season, as senior shortstop Raegan Tennill and junior third baseman Gabriela Banda have combined for 24 two-out RBIs, accounting for almost half of the team's 53 RBI with two outs. Banda leads the team with 16, while Tennill has eight.
Lovin' the Lone Star: Senior Raegan Tennill is hitting .367 in Lone Star Conference play, up 17 points from her overall batting average of .350. Tennill leads the team with 22 hits, and she is 6-6 in stolen bases in the 20 conference games. She is also tied for second on the team with 11 RBI.
New Home = Success: Junior Emery Aguilar spent her first two seasons at UT Permian Basin, and has significantly improved her numbers since moving across the league to the Rattlers. Aguilar leads the team with a 3.39 ERA, less than half what she averaged in 2025 (6.51), and has tripled her win total from a year ago (2-10) to 7-2.
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 March 6. 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.
Chaos on the Bases: St. Mary's has already stolen 73 bases in 2026, leading the Lone Star and ranking 29th nationally with 2.21 stolen bases per game. The 73 swipes already ranks 12th 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 23 steals, which is more than six of the teams in the Lone Star, and ranks 19th in the nation among individuals. There are 14 players on the team who have stolen a base this season, and seven besides Westfahl who have successfully stolen three or more bases in Iliana Melendez (9-9), Raegan Tennill (9-9), Abigail Dela Rosa (9-10), Gabriela Banda (4-4), Peyton Miers (4-4), Miah Corona (3-3) and Emma Wilson (3-3).
Setting the Table: Junior Bryley Westfahl is 22-for-54 (.407) this season when leading off an inning, while Iliana Melendez, the number two hitter in the lineup is 11-for-15 (.733) when the first batter in an inning. The Rattlers as a team are hitting at a .423 clip to begin the frame, up from .304 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.
Closing In: Seniors Abigail Dela Rosa and Raegan Tennill are both closing in on hitting milestones. Dela Rosa is four hits shy of 100 for her career, while Tennill needs two hits for 148 and one RBI for 100. Gabriela Banda is also nine RBI shy of 100 for her career.
On The Fly: St. Mary's is second the Lone Star and ranks 17th in all of Division II in sacrifice flies, hitting 14 through the first 33 games of the season. Gabriela Banda and Izabella Valdez are 45th nationally with three.
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 14, ranking 12th out of 265 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 breaks the school record of 12 held by Vianna Gutierrez-Touchtone (2012-15).
They're Smart Too: 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 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.
