By Randy Stevens
Sports Editor
San Marcos — To say it was a busy week for the San Marcos High School softball team would be a major understatement.
Aside from playing two district games last week, the team also competed and won the Silver Bracket of their own SMHS Rattler Spring Break Classic by going 6-1 in the three-day tournament.
The weekend helped push the Rattlers to the .500 mark this season with a 12-12 record.
Now, after two days of rest, the Lady Rattlers return to District 17-4A action tonight when the team visits county rival Hays for a 7 p.m. game at Rebel Field.
“It was a busy week where we played nine games, but it was a good week for us,” SMHS head softball coach Cathy Stoughton said. “It was a lot of fun, but now we need to make sure that we concentrate on beating hays tonight.”
San Marcos went 2-1 in pool play on Thursday at the tournament, then suffered a 12-1 loss to Elgin in a district game Friday night. SMHS then went 3-0 in tournament play on Saturday to claim the Silver Bracket title.
San Marcos opened bracket play with a 12-0 win over St. Joseph’s, as the Rattlers collected 10 hits compared to five from St. Joseph’s. Danielle Ricks scored the win in the circle for the Lady Rattlers.
Leading the Lady Rattlers at the plate was Jessica Villalpando, going 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs.
SMHS then followed with 4-2 win over Halletsville, as Danielle Doria limited the the opposition to only three hits for the win.
Offensively, the Lady Rattlers collected six hits, led by a 2-for-3 performance at the plate from Alyssa Gonzales. Jessica Hernandez was 2-for-2 with a double and two stolen bases.
Later that evening the Lady Rattlers capped the tournament with a 4-2 win over Allen to win the Silver title. Anyssa Gonzales limited Allen to one hit through six innings, as five hits would be all San Marcos would need to capture the win.
Villalpando led the team at the plate with a 2-2 showing that included a triple, while Jena Gonzales was 1-for-2 with an RBI.
“Danielle Doria and Danielle Ricks stepped up and pitched well on Saturday since we were giving Jessica Villalpando a rest.” Stoughton said, “Anyssa Gonzales also did a great job catching all three games since we were giving Gonzales a break after playing her first full game Friday night since returning after a month out due to an injury.”
Stoughton said it was also refreshing to see her team’s bats waking up. San Marcos had only six hit in Friday’s loss to Elgin before combining for 21 hits in three games.
