April 10, 2009
Stanford, Calif. - The second-ranked Stanford softball team (35-3, 6-2 Pac-10) was upset by rival California today in the second game of a three-game series between the Bay Area rivals. The No. 16/17 Golden Bears (27-12, 4-4 Pac-10) hit two late home runs to claim the game-two victory on their home field in Berkeley, 3-1.
Cal tallied seven hits, the second-highest total against the Cardinal all year. Stanford came up with five hits and left seven runners on base.
Senior second baseman Maddy Coon and sophomore first baseman Melisa Koutz were both 2-for-3 in the game to lead the Stanford offense. Freshman Maya Burns contributed the only other Stanford hit, posting her first double against a Pac-10 opponent.
On the Cal side, sophomore Valerie Arioto and freshman Jamia Reid both recorded two hits in three tries. Junior Taylor Kelly and senior Gina Leomiti had the critical swings however, both recording solo home runs in the late innings.
Senior pitcher Missy Penna (25-3) suffered her third loss of the year, allowing three earned runs while striking out 12. Her 12 K's were enough to crack the top 30 all-time NCAA strikeout leaders. Penna has now posted double-digit K's in four of the last five games and eight of the last 11. She struck out the side twice in six innings and came up with seven strikeouts with runners in scoring position.
Arioto (11-3) started in the circle for the Bears, fanned five and picked up her 11th win of the season.
The Bears were first to strike, putting up a run in the bottom of the third inning. Arioto and Reid notched consecutive singles to start things off and came into scoring position on an ensuing ground out. Penna got a big strikeout for the second out, then got ahead in the count on Elia Reid. Reid swiped at a ball in the dirt for strike three, but raced to first when the ball went to the backstop. On the play, Arioto came across and gave the Bears a 1-0 lead.
Stanford answered in the top of the fifth, tying the game on a sacrifice fly by Alissa Haber. Koutz singled and her pinch runner, Autumn Albers, took third on Burns' double to right center. Pinch hitter Brittany Minder was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs, then Haber came through with a pop-up to deep left field that allowed Albers to tag up and tie the game.
Two Golden Bear solo home runs put them in front for good, however. Leomiti hit the first one with two outs in the fifth inning, and Kelly followed with a one-out drive over the fence in left center in the sixth.
Stanford put runners on in bunches, getting scoring chances in the second, fifth and sixth innings. The Cardinal stranded runners at second and third in the second inning, first and second in the fifth and left bases loaded in the sixth.
Stanford and Cal will play the series rubber game in Berkeley tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Levine-Fricke Field.