Sierra strikes out 14 as Rattlers shutout Lehman

The Rattlers kicked off their home opener with a win.

San Marcos took down Kyle Lehman 3-0 behind a stellar 14-strikeout performance from sophomore pitcher Addy Sierra. The Rattlers put together two and one-run innings that were enough to secure the victory.

“It’s our first home game on our brand new turf at our new field and they got their new uniforms so there’s a lot of exciting things outside of softball, but it was a good win for us. After the struggles that we had last year, to come out with a group like this with energy [was good.] Lehman’s a solid team, and Addy [Sierra] just dominated tonight [with] 14 strikeouts. She’s actually coming back from a little bit of an injury, so that was great to see her in the circle again and see the way that she is able to handle a team. She definitely kept us in the game. I felt like we got a couple of runs early and I think we got a three-run lead and then we got a little bit too comfortable, which is something that we want to work out of,” head coach Cathy Stoughton said. “Otherwise I felt like overall we did a really good job. There’s a few things that we need to clean up, but we are setting high expectations for ourselves. So we are going to be very picky with the girls. I think tonight we could have done a little bit better offensively at the plate. That’s uncharacteristic of us. We scored a lot of runs this past weekend in a tough Brenham tournament. And tonight, like I said, I think we just got comfortable.”

Sierra started the game retiring the first two batters with a ground out and a strikeout. The Lobos were able to force a full count and a walk, but Sierra responded with a strikeout afterwards to put San Marcos (3-5) at the plate.

The Rattlers were able to get two runners on with Arianna Flores and senior Jessica DeLeon getting to first and third base respectively but Lehman forced a ground out to strand both runners and end the inning.

Sierra picked off where she left in the first, striking out another two batters while forcing the Lobos to go three up, three down. San Marcos got to work after that — driving in two runs in the bottom of the second off a double that bounced off second base and a single to center field to go up 2-0.

Sierra brought her strikeout total to six through three innings, retiring another two batters on swings and misses before DeLeon threw out a steal attempt to bring San Marcos to the plate.

“I just go out there and compete. I have a beast mindset, and I don’t think about anything else but the game at that moment. And I play [with a lot of pride] for my community and my team,” Sierra said.

“She [Sierra] works really hard, not only on the field but off the field. She’s always trying to get extra reps, and I’m really proud of her [as her catcher],” DeLeon added.

The Rattlers got a runner on base early and advanced to second after a throwing error. That wouldn’t be the last mistake in the half-inning from Lehman that helped out the Purple and White. The very next at-bat a ground out to first turned into a run for the Rattlers after Lehman missed trying to throw a runner out at third base, which allowed the run to score putting San Marcos’ lead at 3-0.

Sierra’s dominance continued in the top of the fourth, as the sophomore retired the side in order with another two strikeouts to push her total to eight at the halfway point of the game. The Rattlers were able to get a double on the bottom of the fourth, but Lehman held them in check otherwise.

“Her presence [really impacts us]. She’s a competitor, and she works really hard. She’s someone where when you face a pitcher like that — sometimes you can tell by the emotion and the pitcher’s expression if you’re getting to the pitcher or not, [but] she’s just out there throwing. She’s just ice in her veins. If she has a bad pitch here or there, or we make an error or a mistake or she gives up a hit, she stops, steps right back on the rubber and is ready to compete on the next pitch. And you need someone with that kind of mindset in the circle. Pitching and catching is not for everyone. Especially pitching, you have to be really mentally prepared. She’s a fierce competitor, and has a lot of competitive spirit, and that showed tonight going after the batters. Even when she got behind tonight, she was able to work back and dominate even being behind in the count.”

While Sierra’s two-strikeout per inning streak ended in the fifth, the sophomore still got one on the box score and only allowed one runner on for another solid inning. San Marcos went three up, three down at the plate to wrap up the fifth.

Sierra got back to her two strikeouts per inning standard that she’d set throughout the game in the sixth, pushing her game total to 11. The Rattlers got out of the inning with another throw from DeLeon behind the plate to catch the base runner.

Sierra got two strikeouts to start the seventh, putting all the pressure on the Lobos with one out left to go. Lehman was able to get one more single to extend the game, but Sierra finished off the final batter with her 14th strikeout off the night to cap off a complete game shutout and secure San Marcos the victory.

“Right now it’s about setting the bar high. If we perform well, we know that we can do some things better. We’re never gonna be satisfied with where we are. We’re gonna pick little things that we need to evaluate each game and areas that we need to address, like tonight, the offense,” Stoughton said. “A few defensive mistakes, but otherwise I think tomorrow we’re going to definitely need to recover. We do have some girls playing through some injuries and so we’ll get some rest and recovery tomorrow, maybe some film and then get back at it on Thursday. But for sure, we are going to have an offensive focus in practice.”

San Marcos will hit the diamond again this Friday to match up with Austin Westlake at Rattler Athletic Complex at 7 p.m.

judemcclaren.unity @gmail.com Twitter: @judemcclaren