Austin, Texas – The St. Mary’s softball team took all the air out of the drama surrounding the Heartland Conference regular-season championship this weekend.

Needing two wins in their three-game series against rival St. Edward’s to clinch the crown, the Rattlers didn’t even need to play into Sunday’s final game to get what they needed, blowing past the Hilltoppers 12-4 and 8-1 on Saturday to clinch the title.

Leading the way was freshman sensation Taylor Vidrine (San Antonio), who homered four times and drove in 11 runs over the two games. The homers marked her 11th and 12th of the season.

St. Mary’s (31-17, 12-2 in Heartland Conference) exploded in Game 1, scoring runs in all but one inning to romp the Hilltoppers in the annual “Battle of the Saints” matchup.

Vidrine homered in the first and fourth innings, and fellow freshman Vianna Gutierrez (San Antonio) added another blast in the third to complement a strong performance from Emily Brittain (So., Corpus Christi, Texas) in the circle.

Brittain improved to 15-3 with the win, as she struck out four in seven innings.

Game 2 was more of the same for the Rattlers – and for Vidrine – as the Rattlers romped St. Edward’s behind two Vidrine homers. Gutierrez picked up the win to improve to 9-7 on the season, striking out seven over seven innings.

St. Mary’s scored twice in the second before scattering three runs over each of the fourth and sixth innings to lead 8-1.

The teams will wrap up the three-game series Sunday at 12 p.m.

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