AUSTIN, Texas — St. Mary's University Softball senior pitcher Ariella Saenz was electric on the final day of the regular season, throwing a pair of complete game victories at St. Edward's on Saturday afternoon.
 
Saenz, a right-handed pitcher from Pharr, Texas, struck out a career-high six batters in the opener for a 6-4 victory and then came back to throw a no-hitter in the second game for a 4-0 win and the sweep. Saenz needed only 80 pitches to throw the game one complete game and tossed another 94 in game two for 174 on the day.
 
It is the first no-hitter of the season for the Rattlers and the first since Breanna Ford (Corpus Christi, Texas) threw one on April 23, 2024, against Midwestern State. It is the 32nd no-hitter in school history, and the first-ever tossed against the Hilltoppers.
 
The Rattlers end the regular season with a 30-21 record and a 22-16 mark in Lone Star Conference play, while the Hilltoppers conclude their season at 15-36 overall and 12-28 in LSC play. StMU will compete in the Lone Star Tournament; the bracket and game times will be announced on Sunday after the regular season concludes.
 
GAME ONE (StMU 6, SEU 4)
The Rattlers overcame a three-run deficit, scoring the final five runs of the game to open the day with a 6-4 win. 
 
Eight of the spots in the batting order recorded at least one hit, with the top three in the lineup all having multi-hit days, as junior Bryley Westfahl (San Antonio) was 2-for-4, junior Iliana Melendez (Seabrook, Texas) was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI, and senior Raegan Tennill (Corpus Christi, Texas) was 2-for-5. Junior Gabriela Banda (San Antonio) also drove in two runs, and hit her seventh home run of the season, clearing the centerfield fence in the fifth inning to bring the Rattlers within one, 4-3.
 
Freshman Peyton Miers (San Antonio) also had a pair of doubles, doing a great job of flipping the lineup card over, as she was 2-for-3 with a walk and scored the winning run off a single to right center by Melendez in the sixth.
 
Saenz gave up one earned run on six hits with one walk and a career-high six strikeouts.
 
GAME TWO (StMU 4, SEU 0)
Westfahl continued her strong day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a run scored in the nightcap, while Miers was 1-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored.

Saenz retired the final eight batters she faced in the game to complete the no-hitter, recording four groundouts, two flyouts, a strikeout and a lineout for the first no-no of her career. She ended the game with two walks and three strikeouts.
 
The Rattlers scored one in the fourth, one in the fifth and two in the seventh to win the series over the Hilltoppers.