April 13, 2001
STANFORD, Calif. - Cassi Brangham's two-run double in the bottom of the fourth was the difference as the No. 3 Stanford softball team handed No. 4 California a 5-2 loss in Pacific-10 Conference action on Friday afternoon at Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium. With the win, the Cardinal improves to 37-4-1 overall and 6-1 in the Pac-10 while the Golden Bears fall to 43-5 and 2-4 in conference play.
With the game tied 2-2 in the fourth, the Cardinal started the rally when Kira Ching drew a walk to lead off the inning. Jessica Allister hit a single off the left field fence to put runners on first and second with no outs. Then Brangham hit a line drive to the left-center field gap to score Ching. Allister was able to score when Cal's left fielder bobbled the ball. Stanford added one more run in the inning when Jenni Shideler's bunt scored Brangham.
The Cardinal took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning. Robin Walker led off with a walk and Jessica Mendoza was hit by a pitch. With Sarah Beeson at the plate, Stanford attempted a double steal and the catcher's throw went into left field, scoring Walker and Mendoza.
Cal tied the game in the fourth with back-to-back home runs from Candace Harper and Veronica Nelson. For Nelson, it was her 15th shot of the season, which broke Cal's single season record for home runs as well as the school record for career homers. But it would be the only two hits the Bears had on the day.
Stanford pitcher Dana Sorensen went six innings with five strikeouts and two walks. Tori Nyberg pitched the seventh inning and retired the side in order to earn her second save of the year. Sorensen moved to 21-1 with the win.
Cal's Jocelyn Forest allowed two hits and two earned runs while striking out nine. She falls to 22-4 with the loss.
The two teams meet again on Saturday in Berkeley for a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m. The first game will be televised on a tape delayed basis on Fox Sports Net at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and again on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
Stanford 5, Cal 2 Score by Innings1234567R H E #4 Cal00020002 2 2 #3 Stanford200300x5 2 0
WP - Dana Sorensen (21-1) to Jessica Allister. LP - Jocelyn Forest (22-4) to Courtney Scott. Save - Tori Nyberg (2). 2B - Cassi Brangham (STAN). 3B - None. HR - None. E - Kristen Morley (CAL), Courtney Scott (CAL). LOB - Cal 2, Stanford 1. Records: Cal 43-5 (2-4), Stanford 37-4-1 (6-1).