April 15, 2000
Stanford, CA -- The ninth-ranked Stanford softball team (34-10, 3-7 Pac-10) dropped a Pac-10 Conference game to 23rd-ranked Oregon (28-17, 3-6 Pac-10) 3-1 today at the Stanford Softball Complex. The Cardinal and Ducks will conclude their two-game series tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Sophomore All-America OF Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, CA) went 2-for-3 on the day, scoring the lone Cardinal run in the fifth inning on a bases loaded walk to freshman 2B/P Maureen LeCocq (Woodland Hills, CA). Mendoza's performance against Oregon raised her average to .471 for the season.
The Ducks jumped on the Cardinal for three runs in the second inning. Stanford freshman P Tori Nyberg (Belmont, CA) opened the inning by walking Oregon's Triawn Custer, before Lindsey Welch reached base on an error, pushing Custer to third base. Oregon's Jill Robinson then doubled to score Custer. Stanford brought in LeCocq to relieve Nyberg with no outs in the inning. Andrea Vidlund singled off LeCocq to drive in Oregon's second run and another Cardinal error in the inning pushed across Oregon's third run.
Stanford, which stranded 14 bases runners in the game, had opportunities to score but were unable to capitalize. In the bottom of the sixth inning junior 3B Jenni Shideler (San Jose, CA) led off the inning with a walk and with one out advanced to second base when Oregon shortstop Alyssa Laux threw a ball hit by sophomore SS Robin Walker into right field. The Cardinal loaded the bases on a base hit by Mendoza through the right side of the infield. But the Ducks got out of the inning when sophomore 1B Sarah Beeson (Tucson, AZ) struckout and freshman OF Cassi Brangham (Clovis, CA) groundout to first.
Oregon's Connie McMurren (12-12) earned the victory in relief of starter Andrea Vidlund, who pitched 2 1/3 innings. Nyberg suffered the loss to fall to 6-3 on the year.