SAN ANTONIO — Without the 16+ hour rain delay, the two teams completed a doubleheader in just over three-and-a-half hours, as St. Mary's University swept Lubbock Christian University 5-0 and 4-2 on Sunday evening and Monday morning.
The first game, which was scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday, didn't start until 1:35 p.m., but the lightning and rain stayed away until the teams were about to begin game two. After an 80-minute break between games, the teams took the field for game two and completed 3 1/2 innings before the rain returned, forcing the Lone Star foes to postpone until 10 a.m. on Monday.
The two wins improve the Rattlers to 17-8 overall and 9-3 in Lone Star Conference play, while the Lady Chaps drop to 12-12 overall and 8-6 in league action.
St. Mary's heads out on the road this weekend, playing at Eastern New Mexico on Friday, March 13 for a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. (CT), before taking on West Texas A&M on Sunday at 1 p.m. for a twinbill.
GAME ONE (St. Mary's 5, Lubbock Christian 0)
The Rattlers scored one run each in the second, third and sixth innings with two in the fourth for the 5-0 victory.
Senior
Ariella Saenz (Pharr, Texas) and junior
Emery Aguilar (Georgetown, Texas) combined for the shutout over the Lady Chaps. Saenz pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing only four hits with two walks and four strikeouts, while Aguilar was in the circle for the final 1 2/3 innings, giving up only one hit.
It is the fifth shutout of the season for the Rattlers, and the first combined shutout, as Aguilar, Saenz, senior
Emily Ayala (San Antonio) and senior
Breanna Ford (Corpus Christi, Texas) each have a complete-game shutout to their names.
Junior
Samiya Johnson (Corpus Christi) was 2-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI, while junior
Bryley Westfahl (San Antonio) was 2-for-3 and scored a run. Senior
Raegan Tennill (Corpus Christi) collected two RBI and led the team with four defensive assists.
GAME TWO (St. Mary's 4, Lubbock Christian 2)
As Ford was beginning to throw her warm-up pitches, the second delay of the night hit, forcing the teams and fans to find cover.
Upon returning to the diamond, the Lady Chaps wasted no time in breaking onto the scoreboard for the first time, scoring one in the first on two hits. The score remained 1-0 through the middle of the third when another cell of rain and lightning moved onto campus, and the teams decided to resume play on Monday morning.
With a brand-new set of officials and fog sitting over the field, the Rattlers and Chaps restarted play at 9:48 a.m.
Johnson was hit in the upper arm by a pitch, Westfahl walked, and a wild pitch moved them both up 60 feet. A single to centerfield off the bat of
Iliana Melendez (Seabrook, Texas) scored both, and LCU made five changes. After Ashlinn Hamilton completed her warmup pitches, Melendez stole third. With one out, senior
Gabriela Banda (San Antonio) reached on a fielder's choice as she hit a ball back into the circle, and Hamilton chose to keep Melendez at third. Sophomore
Miah Corona (Eddy, Texas) walked on a wild pitch, allowing the speedy Melendez to score, and Banda scored off a fielder's choice that senior
Abigail Dela Rosa (La Grange, Texas) rocketed to shortstop for the 4-1 lead.
Lubbock Christian added a run in the fourth, but the teams played quickly, needing only 62 minutes to play the final four innings and extend the Rattlers' winning streak to five straight.
The Rattlers scored their four runs on two hits, with Melendez driving in two runs, and Westfahl walked twice.
