April 25, 2001
STANFORD, Calif. - The No.3 Stanford softball team had 23 hits and Maureen LeCocq and Tori Nyberg each pitched shutouts as the Cardinal swept Saint Mary's in a non-conference doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon at Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium. Stanford took the first game, 8-0 in five innings, and won the second, 10-0 in five innings as well. The Cardinal improves to 44-6-1 overall while the Gaels drop to 23-30.
In the last four games, Stanford has hit 10 homers and collected 37 hits. The Cardinal has also outscored its opponents 31-2 in the pair of doubleheaders (Arizona State last Sunday).
In Game 1, the Cardinal jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the second. Robin Walker started the two-out rally with a single up the middle, scoring Jenni Shideler, who walked. Jessica Mendoza was then hit by a pitch setting up Sarah Beeson's three-run homer. Beeson crushed the 2-2 pitch to dead centerfield for a 4-0 Stanford lead. The rally continued as Jessica Allister reached when her line drive to first was missed, allowing Kira Ching to score.
In the fourth, Stanford added a single run. Mendoza led off the inning with a double and later scored on Ching's single through the right side.
The Cardinal went up by eight in the bottom of the fifth to end the game. Michelle Thiry led off with a base hit and Jessica Draemel reached on an error. Walker followed with a single, to give Stanford the bases loaded with no outs. Beeson's sacrifice fly to left scored Thiry, and Ching's double off the centerfield fence scored Draemel for the eighth run.
LeCocq pitched her second consecutive complete game shutout (last outing was a 6-0 win at ASU). She gave up just two hits while striking out two and walking one. She improves to 14-5.
For Saint Mary's, Jennifer Eaton took the loss, giving up nine runs on eight hits. She struck out four and falls to 10-14.
The Cardinal had nine hits in the first game, two each from Walker, Beeson and Ching. Beeson had four RBIs while Ching had two.
In Game 2, Stanford took an early lead again, scoring two in the bottom of the first. Mendoza hit a triple to the right centerfield gap, Beeson walked and Allister's base hit to right center scored them both.
Stanford broke it open in the second inning, scoring five runs on five hits. The two-out rally was started by Ramona Shelburne's base hit up the middle. Walker singled to right center and Mendoza's double to left center scored two. Beeson kept it going with a double down the left field line, which chased Saint Mary's starting pitcher Sara Wiedlin. Then Ching greeted reliever Beth Parvin with a two-run homer to centerfield, putting the Cardinal up 7-0 at the end of two innings.
The lead was extended in the fourth when the Cardinal sent nine batters to the plate and collected six hits. Mendoza and Beeson hit consecutive singles and Mendoza scored on Ching's infield grounder. Then Thiry connected for her third home run of the year, a two-run shot to left field.
Nyberg went the distance for the Cardinal in the circle. She picked up her second shutout of the year, giving up seven hits and striking out three. Nyberg is now 6-0.
In Game 2, Stanford had 14 hits, led by Mendoza's 3-for-3 outing. She had a single, a double and a triple, as well as scoring three runs and driving in two. Beeson went 2-for-2 with three runs while Shideler and Shelburne were both 2-for-3.
The Cardinal returns to Pac-10 play this weekend when it travels to No. 13 Washington for a single game on Friday. Stanford will then head to southern California for a pair of games at No. 2 UCLA on Saturday and Sunday.
GAME 1 - Stanford 8, Saint Mary's 0 (5) Score by Innings12345R H E Saint Mary's000000 2 2 #3 Stanford050128 9 0
WP - Maureen LeCocq (14-5) to Jessica Allister. LP - Jennifer Eaton (10-14) to Jenn Arnold. Save - None. 2B - Jessica Mendoza (STAN), Kira Ching (STAN). 3B - None. HR - Sarah Beeson (STAN). E - Holly Ferreira (SMC), Michelle Hanifin (SMC). LOB - Saint Mary's 4, Stanford 9. Records: Saint Mary's 23-29, Stanford 43-6-1.GAME 2 - Stanford 10, Saint Mary's 0 (5) Score by Innings12345R H E Saint Mary's000000 6 1 #3 Stanford2503x10 14 0
WP - Tori Nyberg (6-0) to Jessica Allister. LP - Sara Wiedlin (13-13) to Jenn Arnold. Save - None. 2B - Jessica Mendoza (STAN), Sarah Beeson (STAN). 3B - Jessica Mendoza (STAN). HR - Kira Ching (STAN), Michelle Thiry (STAN). E - Jennifer Fawkes (SMC). LOB - Saint Mary's 7, Stanford 6. Records: Saint Mary's 23-30, Stanford 44-6-1.