STANFORD, Calif. – No. 7 Stanford defeated Oregon State, 8-4, on Sunday at Smith Family Stadium, earning its first conference series sweep since 2021. The Cardinal is tied for first place in the Pac-12 with Utah at 5-1.
Junior Regan Krause (7-2) earned the win for Stanford (27-3) in the circle, throwing four innings, surrendering one run on six hits to go with three strikeouts. Senior Alana Vawter started and went three innings, giving up just three runs on five hits, allowing one walk and striking out three.
Senior Kaitlyn Lim led the way offensively for the Cardinal, going 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and two RBI. Freshman River Mahler also chipped in offensively, going 3-for-4 with an RBI.
Senior Taylor Gindlesperger put together a noteworthy performance as well, finishing 2-for-4 with a triple. The centerfielder is first in program history in career triples with 24 and is two away from breaking the Stanford single season record of eight, which she hit in 2021.
Up next, the Cardinal hits the road with a mid-week game at Cal State Fullerton on Wednesday, followed by a Pac-12 weekend series at No. 3 UCLA.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cardinal jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first, with Emily Young driving in Mahler for the first score. A wild pitch then sent Young home and Vawter drew a bases-loaded walk to score Lim.
The Beavers tied it up in the top of the second, but the Cardinal answered in the third inning as senior Emily Schultz hit an RBI double to score Young.
In the fifth inning, pinch hitter Allie Clements scored Kyra Chan off an error by the Beavers's second baseman to increase Stanford's lead to 5-3.
Oregon State closed the gap to 5-4 but Stanford responded with three insurance runs in the sixth. The three-run frame was punctuated by a two-RBI double from Lim, pushing the score to 8-4 in favor of Stanford.
GAME NOTES
» Stanford's last series sweep came against Oregon State in 2021.
» Lim leads the team with a eight game hitting streak, followed by Gindlesperger at six.
» Stanford pitchers faced 33 Oregon State hitters in the game, allowing nine ground balls and five fly balls while striking out six.
» The Cardinal drew seven walks from Oregon State pitching.
» Lim led the Cardinal at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI.