May 22, 2009
Stanford, Calif. - The Stanford softball team fell just short of a third trip to the Women's College World Series tonight, when it suffered a 6-5 loss to Arizona in the deciding game of the three-game Super Regional series.
Stanford concluded its season with a 48-11 record, a fourth-place finish in the Pac-10, its best winning percentage in school history (.814) and its fourth Super Regional appearance in five years. Arizona (46-15) continues on to next week's Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.
Senior pitcher Missy Penna finished her senior season with a 35-8 record, allowing five earned runs and 10 hits in her final outing. The Miami, Fla. native leaves Stanford with a 119-44 career record, with her 119 wins tying her as the 14th-winningest pitcher in NCAA history and the fourth-winningest in Pac-10 history. Her 50 career shutouts, 119 career wins and 1,267 career K's are all school records.
Sophomore reliever Lindsey Sisk (13-4) claimed the win for Arizona, fanning 14 Cardinal batters and allowing just two earned runs in seven innings of work.
Stanford narrowly lost the hitting battle, 10-9, and left nine runners on base. Shannon Koplitz and Maddy Coon led the Cardinal with two hits apiece, while Lauren Schutzler, Brittany Lastrapes and Jenae Leles all had two for Arizona.
The nation's best home run hitting team used a long ball to put Stanford at a quick 3-0 deficit in the top of the first inning. Lastrapes singled, and with two outs, a full-count walk was issued to Stacie Chambers. First baseman Sam Banister then stepped to the plate and ripped a long home run over the left field fence.
In the bottom of the first, Stanford got two back quickly. Alissa Haber belted a double to left field to start the rally and Ashley Hansen capitalized on a Wildcat error to reach as well. Koplitz then came through with a single up the middle, scoring both runners.
Leles added to the Arizona lead in the third inning, sending a solo shot over the right center field wall that made it 4-2.
The Wildcats built on their lead again in the sixth inning, when a walk and an infield single put two runners aboard with one out. Penna recorded a strikeout for the second out, but a Lastrapes single was mishandled in the outfield and two runs came across.
Down 6-2, Stanford fought back within one in its part of the sixth inning. Freshman Jenna Becerra led off with a walk and advanced on a pair of wild pitches. An infield single by Hansen scored Becerra to pull Stanford within three, and a single by Koplitz kept the two-out rally alive. Coon then ripped a ball to center field that got by the Wildcat defense and sent two more runs in to score.
Sisk came up with a big strikeout to strand the tying run on third however, then struck out the side in the seventh to clinch the victory for her team.