Feb. 21, 2009
Stanford, Calif. - Junior Alissa Haber continued her offensive production and paced the Stanford softball team (12-1) in a 5-2 victory over Notre Dame (2-5) today at Smith Family Stadium.
Haber went 2-for-3 with a home run and a double and drove in two Stanford runs. Including her effort in the morning game, Haber went 6-for-7 on the day and hit for a combined cycle with two singles, two doubles, a triple and a home run. The junior scored two of Stanford's five runs against the Irish, climbing into the school's career top-10 in the category.
Cardinal pitcher Missy Penna improved to 9-1, struck out two batters and allowed two earned runs. Jody Valdivia took the loss for Notre Dame after giving up five earned runs in four innings of work. Both teams had five hits in the game.
Stanford scored early, pushing three of its runs across before its fifth batter stepped into the box. Haber led off with a double down the left line, took third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ashley Hansen. Shannon Koplitz was hit by a pitch, and clean-up hitter Rosey Neill pounded her fifth home run of the year over the left center field fence. Neill's two RBI were her 99th and 100th. Just over halfway into her career, she becomes the ninth player in school history to record 100 or more RBI.
Stanford rounded out its scoring in the fourth inning, using Haber's home run to gain some insurance. Sarah Hassman beat out a chopper to the shortstop to start the inning. Haber then powered a ball over the fence to give Stanford a 5-0 cushion. Combined with her four-hit morning game, Haber's homer marked her sixth hit in as many at-bats.
Notre Dame chipped into the lead in the fifth inning and again in the seventh. In the fifth, Erin Marrone reached on an infield single and advanced on another single by Alexa Maldonado. With two outs, Linda Kohan hit a ball to the right side of the infield that allowed Marrone to score. In the seventh, Maldonado ripped a triple to the wall in right field and scored on a sacrifice fly by Katie Fleury.
The Cardinal wraps up the Stanford Nike Invitational tomorrow. The team is scheduled to take on Western Kentucky and Sacramento State in a doubleheader beginning at 11:15 a.m.