FINAL Score: Midwestern State 2, St. Mary’s 0 (8 Inn.)

SAN ANGELO–Technical problems on-site are preventing the broadcast of the St. Mary’s University-Midwestern State University softball broadcast, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today. A live blog will be posted below for any wanting to keep up with the action.

We’ll try to make the best of the situation. Hope you enjoy our first blog of a St. Mary’s Athletic event.

Top of the first inning –  Malissa Magee is on the mound for the Rattlers, who are ranked 11th in the nation. These two teams met earlier this season in San Antonio with the Rattlers winning 4-0. FIrst pitch of the game, called strike. With a 2-2 count Lindsey Voigt bunts to third, great play by Mary K Pederson to throw out the speedy lead-off hitter, 5-3. 1 out, no on. Maranda Bishop grounds the ball into the hole at SS, goes off the glove of Sade Moore for an error. Jessica Rodriguez hits the 1-0 to third, Mary K Pederson goes to Arlynda Flores at second to get the lead runner – two outs, one runner on. Kristen Stonecipher at the plate, making Magee work hard, already eight pitches in this at-bat – count now 2-2. Stonecipher grounds out to Moore at short, ending the inning. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 left.

Very windy day, gusts over 30 mph, should make for an interesting day.  Very sunny and clear, beautiful other than the win.

Bottom of the first – Sade Moore at the plate against Katie Petersen of Midwestern State. 1-2 pitch swung on and missed, strikeout, one out. Mary K Pederson at the plate now. She hit a homerun last season in the first game of the regional tournament – her only bomb of the season. Pederson strikes out, one of the first times this season that both Pederson and Moore have struck out back-to-back. Peterson fans Flores on a 2-2 pitch, she strikes out the side in the first. No score after one inning.

Top of the 2nd Inning – Lauren Craig leading off the second against Magee. After eight pitches, Magee gets Craig to chase a pitch in the dirt for her first strikeout of the game. Tabitha Yannetti now at the plate. Magee looking for the second dominating performance of the tournament. Jessica Johnson of Southeastern Oklahoma State tossed a no-hitter in the first game of the tournament as SOSU defeated Central Oklahoma 2-0. Magee building up a big pitch count, already 42 pitches as she strikes out Yanetti on a 3-2 count. Ashley Kuchenski pops the second pitch into centerfield. It’s a bit of an adventure for Cooper, but she is able to fight the wind and grab the ball for the final out, ending the top of the second inning.

Bottom of the 2nd Inning – Lindsay Barnes at the plate. Barnes ground a 1-2 pitch slowly to second, retired for the first out. Kelcy Walker now up to bat. Walker swings over the 2-2 pitch, fourth strikeout already for Peterson. Lia Provence comes up next for the Rattlers. Second pitch popped up by Provence on the infield. Shortstop Amanda Potysman gloves it for the final out in the second inning.

Top of the 3rd Inning – Katie Peterson to lead off against Magee. Peterson grounds the ball to Mary K at third, who makes it look easy as usual, throwing out the MSU pitcher, 5-3. Potysman up against Magee with one out, Magee strikeouts out Potysman on the 3-2 pitch. Her pitch count is already 57. However, 40 have been strikes, so Malissa is throwing well today. Voigt now up with two outs. Magee picks up her fourth strikeout of the game to retire the side in order for the second straight inning.

Bottom of the 3rd Inning – Here’s hoping the Rattlers finally break through against Peterson this inning. She has retired the first six Rattlers. Kelly Baker at the plate. Baker becomes the fifth strikeout victim of the day for Peterson. That brings up Nikki Flores. Slow roller to second, Tabitha Yannetti  retires Flores on a throw to first. Senior Sarah Cooper at the dish. Cooper pops the ball up on the infield, gloved by Potysman for the final out of the third.

Top of the 4th Inning – Bishop, the only batter to reach against Magee leads off. Locked in a real pitcher’s duel here. 2-2 pitch popped into shallow left, Nikki Flores and Moore going for it, but Flores gloves it for the first out. Rodriguez up next, slaps one just out of the reach of Moore and Pederson for the first hit of the game. Stonecipher now at the plate for the Mustangs as the wind whips up hard again. Ground ball to Moore, she flips to Flores at second for the second out. Stoneciper steals second on the 1-1 pitch. But Craig grounds out to Flores at second for the last out. Still no score.

Bottom of the 4th Inning – Back to the top of the order for the Rattlers and Sade Moore. Peterson has retired nine in a row for the Mustangs. Rattlers looking to change that right here. 1-2 pitch on the outside corner for the sixth strikeout of the game. Mary K Pederson comes up next. Mary K goes down swinging again for the second out, bringing up Arlynda Flores. Hard hit ball to third that is just gloved and fired across by Stonecipher for the final out of the fourth.

Top of the 5th Inning – Incredible performances by both pitchers so far. We’ll see who blinks first. Yannetti to lead off for the Mustangs. Ground ball to third, tough hop for Mary K, but she fields and fires for the first out. Kuchenski up next. Second pitch lined through the hole in the right side for the second hit of the game. Peterson lays down a sacrifice bunt to move Kuchenski to second with two outs. Brings up Potysman. Magee makes short work of Potysman, striking her out on three pitches.

Bottom of the 5th Inning – Lindsay Barnes will lead off for the Rattlers. If the Rattlers can just get a runner on base, you have to think that they can break through against Peterson. Well here we go. Barnes lobs a single to center for the first hit of the game for St. Mary’s. Tedlin Nieto to pinch run for Barnes. That brings up Walker. Delayed steal on the first pitch, Nieto slides just around the tag. Runner now in scoring position with no outs. Kelcy lays down a sacrifice bunt, moving Nieto to third with just one out. Lia Provence now up at the plate. 1-2 pitch popped up on the infield, the first baseman and the pitcher collide, but Rodriguez gloves it for the second out. Brings up Baker. Count goes to 3-0, but Peterson throws three straight strikes to retire Baker and the Rattlers.

Top of the 6th Inning – Voigt at the plate for MSU. 1-1 pitch to her is the 100th of the game for Magee. 68 have been for strikes. Ball four – first walk of the game for Magee. Bishop now coming to the plate for the Mustangs. 2-1 floated over to second where Flores gloves it for the first out. First pitch to Rodriguez laid down for a sacrifice, moving Voigt to second. Stonecipher at the plate in a huge situation. Classic battle with the count now 3-2. Payoff pitch is low for ball four, but Voigt tries to steal third, is thrown out by Baker, ending the inning.

Bottom of the 6th Inning – Nikki Flores to lead off in the sixth. 1-0 pitch grounded up the middle, tough play for the shortstop Potysman, but she makes it for the first out. Cooper now up. Cooper strikes out on three pitches, bringing up Moore. Pops the first pitch over second, second baseman Yannetti has the ball in her glove, but drops it for an error. That brings up Peterson. Passed ball on the second pitch puts Moore in scoring position at second. Peterson pops the next pitch into shallow left for the last out of the sixth.

Top of the 7th Inning – Craig to lead off for the Mustangs in the seventh. Lined hard to third, good glove by Peterson for the first out. Yannetti smacks it down the third base line for the third hit of the game for the Mustangs, a single. That brings up Kuchenski. Magee strikes out Kuchenski on four pitches for her sixth strikeout of the game. 2-0 pitch to Peterson is up high for a 3-0 count. 125th pitch of the game for Magee. Ball four on the next pitch – third walk of the game for Magee. Two outs, two on for Potysman. Magee does it again, striking out her seventh batter of the game to end the inning.

Bottom of the 7th Inning – Rally time for the Rattlers!! Arlynda Flores leads off. 0-1 grounded out to short for the first out. Lindsay Barnes up now and she can end it with one swing. Good battle for Barnes. Count now 3-2. But the 3-2 popped up to short and Potysman grabs it for the second out. That brings up Walker. The 1-1 popped just out of the reach of the third baseman for the second hit of the game. Alyssa Alfaro will pinch run for Walker. Provence to hit with two outs. She leads the team with four triples. Love one right here. Provence grounds hard up the middle, but Yanetti tags the bag for the last out of the seventh. We’re heading to extra innings!

Top of the 8th Inning – Voigt leading off. Wind is really starting to blow hard here. Gusts are amazing. 2-2 popped out weakly to Moore at short for the first out. Brings up Bishop. Bishop lines it to center for a base hit, fourth of the game for the Mustangs. Rodriguez now coming up. Tough call on the 3-2, looked low, but called third strike. MSU is not happy. On the play Bishop steals second, but two outs for Stonecipher. Ground ball to short, Moore bobbles it and Stonecipher is safe. Bishop never stops running and beats the throw home for a run. Craig now at the plate. 0-1 pitch is in the dirt and Stonecipher easily takes second. Ground ball up the middle, bobbled by Moore and Stonecipher comes in for the second run of the inning. Two unearned runs charged to Magee, who has thrown 161 pitches. Yannetti strikes out to end the threat.

Bottom of the 8th Inning – Baker to lead off. Need a hit here badly. Popped up on the infield and gloved by Stonecipher for the first out. Nikki Flores now batting. 2-0 pitch is up high for 3-0. Now 100 pitches for Petersen. 3-1 pitch is up high for the first walk of the game for Peterson. That brings up Cooper. Cooper pops out to the catcher. The Rattlers are up against the wall as Sade Moore is the final hope for St. Mary’s. Moore grounds it up the middle and she is retired to end the game.

St. Mary’s falls in dramatic and frustrating fashion, 2-0. Two unearned runs hands Malissa Magee just her seventh loss of the season. She deserved a better fate. Now St. Mary’s will face a do-or-die game tommorrow at 11 a.m. against Central Oklahoma. The winner moves on for a Friday afternoon game, the loser goes home.

We’ll be back on tommorrow for another blog of the game. Hopefully a better result for the Rattlers who are now 53-11 this season. Until then, thanks for reading.

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