April 25, 2008
San Antonio – Malissa Magee and Taryn Munoz each tossed two-hit shutouts as ninth-ranked St. Mary’s University swept a Heartland Conference softball doubleheader, 5-0, 2-0, clinching the league title for the Rattlers Friday afternoon at Cardinal Field.
Magee (Sr., Katy) allowed just a two-out single in the first and a lead-off single in the fifth. She walked one and struck out six to pick up her 32nd win of the season and 17 shutouts, improving on her school record. She also lowered her ERA to just 1.21 this season. She has allowed just one earned run over the last 52 innings.
For six innings Melissa Perez nearly matched Magee, allowing just one run. St. Mary’s broke out on top in the fifth inning. Mary K Pederson (Sr., Houston) reached on an error with two outs, bringing pinch runner Tedlin Nieto (Jr., Pearsall) home. In the seventh inning the Rattlers broke the game open. With one out Sade Moore (Jr., Angleton) tripled to right and came home on a fielder’s choice by Pederson. Arlynda Flores (So., Uvalde) walked and Lindsay Barnes (Sr., San Antonio) smashed a three-run homerun to give the Rattlers a 5-0 lead.
In game two Taryn Munoz (So., Bulverde) was nearly as dominant as Magee, allowing two hits and one walk, while striking out four. She improved to 14-3 on the season. The shutout was her sixth of the season.
The Rattler offense gave Munoz the lead early on. With one out in the first inning, Pederson walked, but was eliminated on a fielder’s choice by Flores. Flores stole second and Barnes gave the Rattlers the lead with a single to left. St. Mary’s increased their lead in the sixth inning. Sarah Cooper (Sr., Houston) singled to lead off and moved to second on a sacrifice. Flores then gave the Rattlers a 2-0 lead with a triple to right, scoring Cooper.
With the sweep the Rattlers are now 49-9 overall and 25-1 in Heartland Conference play. The Rattlers have won their last 13 games in a row. UIW fell to 29-23 and 18-8. St. Mary’s will host the Cardinals in a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. at Rattler Field.