Feb. 15, 2013
STANFORD, Calif. - The No. 20/22 Stanford softball team opened the Stanford Nike Invitational with a 9-0 five inning win over Cal State Northridge and a 7-0 victory over CSU Bakersfield, Friday, at Smith Family Stadium. The Cardinal improves to 7-2 overall, while Matadors fall to 2-7 overall and Roadrunners drop to 0-5.
Freshman pitcher Kelsey Stevens earned the win against CSUN, earning her first collegiate shutout and improving to 3-1 overall. She tallied five strikeouts and had a perfect game going until the fifth inning. Stevens also entered the game against CSU Bakersfield in a save situation, but did not finish the game and therefore is not credited with a save. She leads the team with 36 strikeouts.
Senior Teagan Gerhart tallied the win in the circle for Stanford against CSU Bakersfield, improving to 4-1 overall. CSUN's Brianna Elder (0-1) took the loss for the Matadors, while Kelsie Monroe fell to 0-3 for the Roadrunners.
Offensively, senior center fielder Sarah Hassman led the team with three hits on five at-bats, scoring four runs and tallying two RBI. Freshman catcher Jessica Plaza registered a two-run home run and a triple for three RBI, while sophomore third baseman Hanna Winter was 4-for-7 with three runs scored.
The Cardinal jumped out to a 3-0 lead against the Matadors in the bottom of the first inning. Hassman hit an RBI double to score Winter. Sophomore Leah White plated a run on a wild pitch by Elder and freshman designated player Kayla Bonstrom hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield to score Hassman.
Stanford added four more runs in the third inning, including Plaza's two-run shot to left centerfield. Senior Jenna Rich registered an RBI triple, while sophomore Erin Ashby hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
Stanford scored its final two runs in the fourth inning. Two walks and a hit by pitch loaded the bases for Ashby, who drew also drew a walk to score White. Bonstrom then hit her second sacrifice fly of the game to score Hassman.
Against CSU Bakersfield, Stanford took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Winter singled to lead off the game and then stole second. White moved Winter to third, where she scored on a fielder's choice by Rich.
Stanford's 1-0 lead stood until the bottom of the sixth inning, where fielding errors by the Roadrunners allowed the Cardinal to plate six runs. It total, Stanford scored six runs, only two earned, on four hits while CSUB committed three errors. Hassman started the rally with a single to left field to score Winter. Plaza and sophomore Cassandra Roulund hit consecutive RBI triples for Stanford, and pinch hitter Danielle Miller added a sacrifice fly.
The Cardinal will face both Cal State Northridge and CSU Bakersfield again on Saturday, Feb. 16. Stanford will take on the Matadors at 11:45 a.m. and the Roadrunners at 4:15 p.m. on the second day of the Stanford Nike Invitational.