Feb. 24, 2001
COLUMBUS, Georgia - The No. 9 Stanford softball team was trailing 5-2 before it rallied for five runs in the fourth and four more in the sixth to defeat Seton Hall 14-8 in the third and final pool play game of the NFCA Leadoff Classic on Saturday afternoon at South Commons Complex. Stanford improves to 15-1 on the year while Seton Hall falls to 1-2.
Stanford, which went 3-0 in pool play, will advance to the Gold Championship bracket of the tournament as the top seed. The Cardinal is scheduled to play the No. 8 seed Kansas at 5:30 p.m. (EST).
The Cardinal jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first behind Sarah Beeson's first of two home runs in the game.
The Pirates came back in the bottom of the first to tie the game 2-2 with two base hits and an error. In the second, Seton Hall took the lead on Mary Carroll Smith's three-run homer, which sent Stanford starting pitcher Tori Nyberg to the dugout. Nyberg pitched 1 2/3 innings, giving up five hits and five runs (two earned). She had three strikeouts and no walks.
Jaime Forman-Lau came on in relief and ended Seton Hall's second inning rally. She went on to pitch the remainder of the game, allowing three runs on four hits with six strikeouts. Forman-Lau earned her second win of the year to move her record to 2-0.
Trailing 5-2 in the third, Beeson tied the game with her second homer of the day (fourth of the tournament). Then in the fourth, Stanford blew open the game with five runs. Three consecutive doubles by Jenni Shideler, Jessica Allister and Cassi Brangham started the rally. Michelle Thiry and Robin Walker each had sacrifice flies, and Jessica Mendoza and Beeson singled to chase the Pirates' starting pitcher. The Cardinal sent nine batters to the plate in the inning, collecting five hits.
In the sixth, it was a leadoff double by Thiry and RBI singles from Kira Ching and Shideler that gave the Cardinal a 14-6 cushion. The Pirates rallied for two in the bottom of the sixth, but would not score again.
The Cardinal had 12 hits in the game, led by Beeson's 3-for-3 performance with three runs and six RBIs. Shideler and Brangham each had a pair of hits as well. The marathon game lasted 2 hours, 45 minutes and saw eight errors between the two teams (three for the Cardinal).
Score by Innings1234567R H E #9 Stanford203504014 12 3 Seton Hall230012x8 9 5WP - Jaime Forman-Lau (2-0). LP - Misty Beaver (1-1). Save - None. 2B - Mary Carroll Smith (SHU), Marlena Kotynski (SHU), Jenni Shideler (STAN), Jessica Allister (STAN), Cassi Brangham (STAN), Michelle Thiry (STAN). 3B - None. HR - Sarah Beeson (STAN) 2. E - Michelle Thiry (STAN), Kira Ching (STAN) 2, Amy Mellin (SHU), Kim Jackson (SHU), Marlena Kotynski (SHU), Vickie Lamb (SHU), Ryan Barry (SHU). LOB - Stanford 3, Seton Hall 4. Records: Stanford 15-1, Seton Hall 1-2.