Feb. 17, 2012
Pacific Box Score | Bradley Box Score
STANFORD, Calif. - The eighth-ranked Stanford softball team shut out Pacific, 5-0, and defeated Bradley, 3-2, Friday during the first day of the Stanford Nike Invitational at Smith Family Stadium. The Cardinal improves to 6-2 overall, while the Tigers fell to 1-3 and the Braves dropped to 3-4.
Junior pitcher Teagan Gerhart picked up both wins in the circle, improving to 6-1 overall. She threw five scoreless innings versus Pacific with two strikeouts and posted her first complete game of the year against Bradley. She finished with a season high 11 strikeouts versus the Braves.
Against Pacific, Stanford took the early 1-0 advantage in the bottom of the first inning. Senior Sarah Hassman, the lead-off hitter for the Cardinal, was hit by a pitch. She advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Leah White. Senior Ashley Hansen brought Hassman home on a single up the middle.
Senior first baseman Jenna Becerra hit a solo home run to lead off the second inning for the Cardinal. It marked the second long ball of the season for Becerra.
The Cardinal added three more runs in the third inning to take a 5-0 lead over the Tigers. White and Hansen drew walks to start the innings. White moved to third on a single by Jenna Rich and then was safe at the plate as Pacific catcher Amy Moore dropped the ball after the tag. A double by Becerra scored Hansen and then freshman Hanna Winter recorded an RBI single to right field to score Rich.
Against Bradley, both teams were held scoreless until the bottom of the fourth. Hansen led off with a single through the left side. She scored on a triple to right center by Rich. Rich then scored on a passed ball by Braves catcher Bailiegh Basham.
Bradley tied it up in the top of the sixth, taking advantage of costly errors by the Cardinal. After back-to-back errors by Winter loaded the bases, Bradley's Basham hit a two-run single up the middle.
Stanford answered in the bottom of the sixth as designated player Tegan Schmidt hit an RBI double to left field to score Winter from first base.
Stanford will face Nevada on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 12:15 p.m. The tournament will then be seeded with semifinal games played at 2:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. at Smith Family Stadium.