March 18, 2007
San Antonio – Malissa Magee tossed her fourth shutout of the week, helping St. Mary’s University to a split of a doubleheader against 21st-ranked St. Edward’s University, 4-5, 1-0, in Heartland Conference softball action Sunday afternoon at Rattler Field.
Magee (Jr., Houston) allowed just two base runners in the game in improving to 16-7 on the season. She walked Kaleigh Courville on four pitches to start the game, then settled down and retired the next 15 Hilltoppers. Melissa McSheffery ended that streak with a bloop triple down the rightfield line to start the sixth inning. But Magee bore down and forced pinch hitter Julia Alaniz to ground out to third for the first out. Then Courville smashed a ball right at third baseman Mary K Pederson (Jr., Houston). The hot shot went off Pederson’s glove and landed a few feet away. Pederson quickly scooped up the ball and fired home to Kelcy Walker (Jr., San Antonio), who tagged out McSheffery for the second out. Magee then struck out Mandy Phillips to end the threat.
Magee finished the game with her fourth shutout of the week and ninth of the season, allowing just one hit and one walk, while striking out six.
The Rattlers scored the only run of the game in the third inning. With one out, Sade Moore (So., Angleton) smacked her third single of the day and moved to second on a ground out by Pederson. Sarah Cooper (Jr., Houston) then sent a line drive to center, scoring Moore. That was the only run that Robin Becker would allow as she took the loss, falling to 4-3, despite allowing just five hits and one walk in the game.
In the first game the Rattlers finally broke through against Jennifer Bishop, but still fell by a 5-4 count. Bishop, who had shut out the Rattlers on Saturday in Austin, allowed her first run of the series on a single to center by Cooper in the third inning, tying the game at 1-1. In the fifth inning the Rattlers took the lead. With one out Moore singled to center and moved to second on a perfect bunt single down the first base line by Pederson. The two advanced to second and third on a passed ball and Walker put the Rattlers ahead with a two-run single.
But the lead would not last long as the Hilltoppers responded with four runs in the top of the sixth. However, the Rattlers came back in the bottom of the seventh. Lindsey Magaro (Sr., Elmendorf) doubled to lead off and two outs later came home on an infield single by Cooper. When Walker kept the rally going with a single the Hilltoppers went to the bullpen for Becker and she picked up the final out, ending the threat.
Cooper led the way offensively for the Rattlers, going 5-of-7 with three RBI on the day. Moore 3-of-4 with a walk and scored three runs.
With the split the Rattlers are now 26-14 overall and 5-3 in Heartland play. St. Edward’s is 28-14, 7-1. St. Mary’s will be off the next six days before hosting Texas A&M University-Kingsville in a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday, March 24 at noon at Rattler Field.