February 11, 2007
ABILENE – St. Mary’s University used dominate pitching and equally strong hitting and defense to defeat Southeastern Oklahoma State University twice and claim the title of the CBS Insurance Classic, played Saturday afternoon.
In the first game Brittany Kettinger (Jr., Azle) scattered four hits and one walk over six innings of work to pick up her third win of the season against just one loss. St. Mary’s then broke open a tight 1-0 game in the fifth inning with five runs, including Heather Monroe’s (Fr., New Braunfels) third homerun of the season. One inning later the Rattlers completed the run-rule win with a two-run triple by Kelsey Walker (Jr., San Antonio) and a two-run homerun by Lindsay Barnes (Jr., San Antonio). St. Mary’s won the game 10-0 in six innings.
In the second game, which was also the championship game of the tournament, Malissa Magee (Jr., Houston) improved to 5-1 on the season with her third shutout in six starts. She allowed just six hits and no walks, while striking out four in seven innings of work.
Again the Rattlers broke open a close game late to pick up the win. With the score tied at 0-0 heading into the sixth inning Barnes took care of the tie with her sixth homerun of the season, a solo shot to put the Rattlers ahead 1-0. Monroe followed and was hit by a pitch. She stole second and moved to third on a Jenna Saucedo (So., San Antonio) single. Lindsay Magaro (Sr., Elmendorf) brought Monroe home with a sacrifice fly, providing the final margin for the Rattlers.
With the wins the Rattlers are now 9-2 overall and have won the tournament titles of both tournaments they have played in. Southeastern Oklahoma State fell to 5-4 overall this season. St. Mary’s will return to action on Friday when they travel to Wichita Falls to play in the Midwestern State Tournament.