April 25, 2013
Stanford Game Notes | Utah Game Notes
THIS WEEK: The No. 15/17 Stanford softball team (29-16, 6-9 Pac-12) continues Pac-12 play this week with a three-game series against Utah (23-24-1, 6-12 Pac-12), April 26-28 at Smith Family Stadium.
CATCH THE CARDINAL: Fans can follow this weekend’s games on Gametracker, available on www.GoStanford.com. Live updates will also be available on Twitter @StanfordSball. Friday and Sunday’s games will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks.
SCOUTING UTAH: Utah enters the weekend with a 23-24-1 overall record and a 6-12 mark in the Pac-12. The Utes are coming off their second conference series win, knocking off both then-No. 15 UCLA and then-No. 2/3 Arizona State, 2-1. Leading the team offensively are seniors Jackie Sweet and Kelsi Hoopiiaina. Sweet paces the team with a .382 average, 50 hits and a .626 slugging percentage. Hoopiiaina is hitting .324 with 27 RBI and a team-tying high six home runs. Sophomore Kate Dickman leads the team with 15 doubles and is hitting .345. The Utes utilize three pitchers in the circle, junior Naomi Amu, sophomore Mariah Ramirez and freshman Kayce Nieto.
THE SERIES AGAINST THE UTES: Stanford is 8-2 all-time against Utah. The Cardinal won the season series last year, 2-1, in Salt Lake City. Then-rookie pitcher Nyree White notched the two wins in the circle, while Gerhart tallied a save in game three.
UP NEXT: Stanford will play four road games next week, starting with a non-conference matchup at UC Davis on May 1. The Cardinal will then play a three-game Pac-12 series against Bay Area rival California, May 3-5 in Berkeley, Calif.
LAST WEEK: Stanford fell in a midweek game to Saint Mary’s (5-2) before travelling to Seattle to battle the rain and the 14th-ranked Washington Huskies. The Cardinal dropped the series (1-2) as the team sat through several hours of rain delays.
IN THE POLLS: The Cardinal, which has appeared in every regular-season poll for more than a decade, remained at No. 15 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball and dropped to No. 17 in the USA Today/NFCA poll top 25 this week. Seven Pac-12 schools appear in the top-25 of at least one of the polls.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Senior shortstop Jenna Rich recently broke into the top-10 on the Cardinal’s career hits list. The El Segundo, Calif., native sits at No. 9 with 229 career hits. She also moved up on the career home runs chart, passing Michelle Smith (‘08) for sole possession of second pace with 41. Olympian Jessica Mendoza holds the school record with 50.
PAC-12 PLAY: Freshman Kayla Bonstrom has been Stanford’s most consistent threat at the plate all season and has carried that over to conference play. She leads the team with a .364 average in Pac-12 games, including two doubles, three home runs a team-best 12 RBI. She also boasts a .614 slugging percentage and a .442 on-base percentage against conference opponents.
CARDINAL ACE: Senior Teagan Gerhart has been Stanford’s most consistent presence in the circle this year. On the season, Gerhart leads the team with a 16-8 record and holds a 2.46 ERA, 120 strikeouts and five saves, which is tied for first in the Pac-12. She has given up 55 earned runs in 156.1 innings pitched, and is holding opponents to a .219 batting average.
RBI CHASE: Senior Jenna Rich entered the season already ranked among the top-10 in several career statistical categories for the Cardinal. Recently, Rich passed Jessica Mendoza on the all-time RBI list with 197 and is just five away from breaking Sarah Beeson’s (‘02) record of 201.
THREE’S COMPANY: This year’s Stanford squad has already hit 16 triples, trying for the second-most in a single season in school history. The 2012 team set the school record with 20 triples. Sophomore outfielder Cassandra Roulund leads the team with six, also trying for the second-most in a single season at Stanford. Roulund’s six triples leads the Pac-12 and ranks seventh nationally.
SENIOR CLASS AWARD: Stanford shortstop Jenna Rich has been tabbed a top 10 finalist for the 2013 Senior CLASS Award. She joins California pitcher Jolene Henderson in representing the Pac-12 Conference. Finalists were narrowed down from a list of 30 based on personal qualities that define a complete student-athlete - classroom, community, character and competition. Fan voting at www.seniorCLASSaward.com runs now through May 13 and is also available on the Senior CLASS Award fan page on Facebook.
PAC-12 NETWORKS: The launch of the Pac-12 television networks on August 15, 2012 marked the beginning of a new era for the Conference of Champions. Among the televised events will be 35 Pac-12 softball games. Stanford will take part in eight of those broadcasts, including the first softball game on the networks at Oregon on March 24. The Pac-12 Networks consists of one national and six regional networks devoted solely to the Pac-12 Conference. Below is a complete list of the Stanford broadcasts:
March 24 at Oregon (3 p.m. PT)
March 28 vs. UCLA (7 p.m. PT)
March 29 vs. UCLA (7 p.m. PT)
April 6 vs. Arizona State (2 p.m. PT)
April 6 vs. Arizona State (4:30 p.m. PT)
April 26 vs. Utah (5 p.m. PT)
April 28 vs. Utah (1 p.m.)
May 9 vs. Arizona (7 p.m. PT)
HEAD COACH John Rittman: In his 17th season at the helm of the Cardinal program, head coach John Rittman is one of the winningest coaches in collegiate softball, boasting a 710-329-3 (.683) career record. Since stepping onto The Farm in July 1996, he has coached the team to 16 consecutive winning seasons, 15 straight NCAA Tournament appearances and 13 40-win seasons. Under Rittman, Stanford has claimed a share of its first conference championship and made two appearances in the Women’s College World Series (2001 & 2004).
MILESTONE FOR RITTMAN: Cardinal head coach John Rittman captured his 700th career win on March 8 in a 2-1 victory over Florida Gulf Coast at the Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic. All 700-plus wins have come during his time on The Farm. He is among the top 20 in the nation of the active winingest head coaches (.683).