February 7, 2011
San Antonio – Trash talking is an art form that St. Mary’s sophomore Shelly Lee has managed to master in the most tasteful way.
Call it trash thinking.
“I say some things in my head that I can’t really say out loud,” said the second baseman, laughing. “You just talk to the pitcher in your head.
“I’m not nice at all.”
Lee’s mind games paid dividends Monday, as she drove in the winning run in a 6-5 victory over Abilene Christian in the bottom of the eighth inning.
With the bases loaded, Lee delivered a hard-hit single up the middle to help the Rattlers close out the 7th Annual St. Mary’s College Softball Classic in style at the St. Mary’s Softball Fields.
“I definitely play mind games,” said Lee, a San Antonio native who went 2 for 3 with three RBIs. “I want to make myself feel like they can hear me. It kind of gets me more motivated. I guess that’s why I hit it up the middle.”
RE-WATCH THE COMEBACK!
Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the fourth, Lee and first baseman/pitcher Heather Haas (So., Shiner, Texas) teamed up to put the Rattlers (4-1) ahead 4-2.
Haas drove in two runs on a single to right-center field, while Lee followed up with a go-ahead, two-RBI triple down the right-field line.
Jared Gonzalez (So., San Antonio) added a RBI double in the fifth to give St. Mary’s a 5-3 lead, but Abilene Christian would rally to even the score at 5-5, pushing the game to extra innings.
In the eighth, Ashley Behabetz (Fr., Littelton, Colo.) was placed at second base because of the international tiebreaker rule, and Haas and Alex Garcia (So., San Antonio) proceeded to reach base to load the bases.
That’s when Lee, quietly working the opponent, struck to help the Rattlers prevail.