March 30, 2001
STANFORD, Calif. - The No. 5 Stanford softball team scored one run in the fourth inning and Dana Sorensen pitched a two-hit shutout as the Cardinal defeated UCLA 1-0 in the Pacific-10 Conference opener on Friday afternoon at Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium. Stanford improves to 31-2-1 on the year and 1-0 in the Pac-10 while the Bruins, who had won 35 straight, fall to 35-1 overall (0-1 in conference play).
Each team had two hits in the game, but the Cardinal scored its lone run in the fourth on an error by UCLA left fielder Erin Rahn. Jessica Mendoza reached on a walk and stole second before Sarah Beeson's drive to left was missed by Rahn, scoring Mendoza.
Sorensen, a sophomore, was solid in the circle for the Cardinal as she struck out seven and allowed just four base runners, none of which advanced past second base. She increased her streak of consecutive scoreless innings to 46, and her record moves to 16-1 on the year. It was Sorensen's 13th complete game and 11th shutout of the year.
After Stanford took a 1-0 lead, Sorensen retired nine of the next 10 batters, including the 3-4-5 hitters in the top of the seventh. UCLA came into the game with a team batting average of .371. The only Bruin hits were an infield single by Natasha Watley in the fourth and a bloop hit to right by Marcel Torres in the sixth.
UCLA pitcher Amanda Freed held the Cardinal hitless until the fifth inning when Maureen LeCocq drove a double down the left field line. The only other hit for Stanford was Ramona Shelburne's bloop double to left. The Cardinal had five base runners in the game, two of which were stranded on third base. Freed, who had a 0.16 ERA coming into the game, took her first loss of the season to fall to 14-1.
Stanford has now won eight in a row and hasn't given up a run in 56 consecutive innings. The Cardinal continues the opening weekend of Pac-10 play on Saturday against the No. 15 Washington Huskies (2-0 winners over No. 3 Cal on Friday). Game time is set for 2:00 p.m.
Score by Innings1234567R H E #1 UCLA00000000 2 1 #5 Stanford000100x1 2 0
WP - Dana Sorensen (16-1) to Jessica Allister. LP - Amanda Freed (14-1) to Stacey Nuveman. Save - None. 2B - Maureen LeCocq (STAN), Ramona Shelburne (STAN). 3B - None. HR - None. E - Erin Rahn (UCLA) LOB - UCLA 2, Stanford 3. Records: UCLA 35-1 (0-1), Stanford 31-2-1 (1-0).