March 3, 2012
FULLERTON, Calif. - The 11th-ranked Stanford softball team shut out Florida International, 10-0 in five innings, Saturday, in the DeMarini Invitational in Fullerton, Calif. The Cardinal, which won its 10th straight game, improves to 13-3 overall, while the Golden Panthers fell to 7-11.
Junior pitcher Teagan Gerhart picked up her 16th win of the season, striking out four batters while allowing just one hit. Freshman Nyree White entered the game in relief in the fourth, finishing with one strikeout and no hits allowed. FIU's Jenn Gniadek took the loss, dropping to 2-6.
Stanford came out fired up, scoring three runs in the top of the first. With the bases loaded and no outs, junior Jenna Rich reached on an error by FIU third baseman Jessy Alfonso which allowed freshman Hanna Winter to score from third. Freshman Leach White then scored on a wild pitch and first baseman Tegan Schmidt drove home the final run of the inning with a single up the middle.
The Cardinal added another run in the top of the second, pushing the lead to 4-0. Winter led off the inning with a single to centerfield and then scored on an RBI single by Rich.
Stanford tacked on three more runs in the fourth to hold a 7-0 advantage over FIU. Senior Ashley Hansen led off the inning with a single through the right side. Rich then doubled to center to put two runners in scoring position. Sophomore Danielle Miller, who was pinch hitting for Schmidt, blasted the first pitch she saw over the right field fence.
Several Cardinal players got a chance to play new positions in the game, including freshman left fielder Alyssa Lombardo, freshman centerfielder Cassandra Roulund, freshman third baseman Erin Ashby and Miller at first base.
Stanford wraps up the DeMarini Invitational on Sunday, March 4 with a double-header against Michigan State and East Carolina starting at 11:15 a.m. PT.