LAREDO, Texas - Texas A&M International University softball (14-19, 8-9 Heartland Conference) dropped a Heartland Conference doubleheader against St. Mary's University (19-15, 9-6 Heartland Conference) on Saturday afternoon.

Game 1: St. Mary's 3, Texas A&M International 1

The first game of the doubleheader was a pitcher's duel between Dustdevils starter, Jenika Lombrana (L, 6-9: 7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 K, 2 BB) and Rattlers starter Staci Johns (W, 10-8, 7 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 12 K).

In the top of third inning, the Rattlers recorded a trio of runs off of Lombrana. Alex Moreno broke the scoring ice by hitting a sacrifice fly to center fielder Maddison Schofield to give the Ratters the lead. The next hitter, Victoria Aldridge, smacked an RBI single to make the score 2-0. St. Mary's would later score again and stretch their lead to three (3-0).

In the the bottom of the sixth frame, Schofield hit a sacrifice fly to the right fielder that scored Morgan Chavarria off of Johns to cut the deficit to two (3-1).

Johns would later settle in the circle and secure the victory for the Rattlers.
 

Game 2: St. Mary's 11, Texas A&M International 6

In the second game of the twin bill, the Dustdevils scored the game's first run when Maya Paul reached on an error by the shortstop that allowed Melanie Gamboa to touch home in the bottom of the second inning.

The Rattlers would counter by scoring four runs in both the third and fourth innings of play that featured a three-RBI double by Staci Johns (2-for-4, 3 RBI) that put St. Mary's ahead 4-1 after the top of the third. In the fourth inning, Raynelle Nash (4-for-5, 7 RBI, 3 R) hit a grand slam down the left field line off of Dustdevil starter Melanie Lint (L, 1-4: 4.2 IP, 12 H, 10 R, 6 ER, K) to give them an 8-1 edge.

Nash would hit her second home run of the day, this time off of relief pitcher Miranda Martinez (2.1 IP, 3 H, ER) that increased their lead to double-digits (11-1) in the top of the fifth.

In the home half of the fifth frame, the Dustdevils tried to mount a comeback as they strung together three consecutive run-scoring singles that came off the bats of Schofield, Shelby Edwards and Briana Arredondo, respectively, off of Rattlers starter Alex McLennan (W, 6-3: 7 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 5 K, 3 BB).

TAMIU would score two more runs in the fifth including an RBI single by Alyssa Contreras (2-for-3, RBI, BB) and Gamboa would cap off the big inning on an RBI ground out to the shortstop to cut the deficit to five (11-6).

The Rattlers would ultimately take the second game and sweep the doubleheader.

The Dustdevils continue their seven-game homestand with a non-conference doubleheader against Tarleton State University (21-8) on Monday, March 25 at 1 p.m.