May 1, 2009
Stanford, Calif. - To begin her last Pac-10 series on home turf, Missy Penna brought her very best. The senior All-American fanned 11 batters, threw a two-hitter, shut down one of the nation's top-three offenses and clinched the series from sixth-ranked Arizona State for the first time in her four-year career. Along the way, the nation's active strikeout leader sat down her 1,200th career batter, secured her second consecutive 30-win season and set the bar higher on four school records.
With the 4-0 victory, Stanford improved to 42-6 on the year and secured a winning Pac-10 season for the sixth time in school history and the second year in a row. The Cardinal is now 11-5 in conference play and a half game behind first-place Arizona.
Arizona State dropped to 37-14 and 7-9 in the conference. Stanford took the series from the Sun Devils for the first time since 2005.
Penna's win pushed her to 30-4 on the year, marking the third 30-win season in school history (and the second by Penna). With her school-record 114th career victory, she became the 22nd winningest pitcher in NCAA history.
The senior ace held one of the nation's top offenses scoreless for seven innings to build her career shutout record to 49 and the single-season school shutout record to 17. It was the first time the Sun Devils had been shutout in more than two months (Feb. 22 vs. UMass).
Penna fanned Ashley Muenz for the final out of the game to record her 1,200th career K. She is the first active pitcher in the country to reach the milestone, the first to ever do so at Stanford, the seventh to reach it in the Pac-10 and the 24th to make the landmark all-time.
Freshman Hillary Bach (22-8) took the loss for Arizona State after allowing nine hits and four earned runs. Penna gave up two hits, walked one and hit a batter to allow just four ASU baserunners.
Offensively, junior Alissa Haber paced Stanford with three hits, but it was rookie Ashley Hansen who stepped up and drove in all four Stanford runs. The rookie hit her fourth home run of the season in the first inning and went 2-for-4 on the evening.
Hansen's four RBI moved her up to a team-high 48 on the year, pushing her onto the school's single-season best list. Her RBI total is the third highest ever posted by a Stanford rookie. Her home run was her 70th hit of the year, marking the 12th 70-hit season in school history. She is the third Cardinal freshman to post 70 or more hits, matching the efforts of Jackie Rinehart (2004) and Jessica Mendoza (1999).
Just a junior, Haber became the third Stanford player to hit 50 or more career doubles. Hansen's home run brought the All-American outfielder across for the 53rd time this year. She has now scored more times in a season than any Cardinal player but Mendoza (2000, 2001, 2002).
Arizona State senior Jessica Mapes was the only player who could hit Penna, getting each of the two hits allowed by the Stanford senior. The Sun Devils left three runners on, while Stanford stranded seven.
Haber and Hansen got Stanford off to an efficient start, putting two runs on the board before the Cardinal's third batter stepped to the plate. Haber started things with her 19th double of the year and Hansen sliced her fourth home run over the left field fence to make it 2-0.
Stanford kept hitting and added onto its lead in the second inning. Freshman Jenna Becerra reached on a bunt single and cruised into second on a Sun Devil throwing error. Haber moved her to third with another bunt single, and Becerra beat the throw to the plate on a ground ball to the right side by Hansen.
In the fourth inning, Stanford came up with its final run. Sarah Hassman punched a single to left field, then stole second base. Haber moved her to third with her third hit of the night and Hansen brought her in with a chop single to the left side of the infield.
Arizona State's only significant threat came in the fourth inning, when Mapes and freshman Katelyn Boyd reached with no outs. Penna struck out two-time defending Pac-10 Player of the Year Kaitlin Cochran for the first out, then coaxed a strikeout and a fly ball to end the inning.
Stanford plays No. 7/8 Arizona tomorrow for first place in the conference standings. The Cardinal will look to avenge last month's loss in the desert, with action set to begin at 1 p.m. at Smith Family Stadium.