April 26, 2013
STANFORD, Calif. - The Stanford bats came alive as the No. 15/17 Cardinal softball team topped Utah, 8-0 in six innings, Friday, at Smith Family Stadium. With the win, the Cardinal captures its 30th win of the season and moves to 7-9 in the Pac-12, while the Utes fall to 23-25-1 overall and 6-13 in the conference.
Senior pitcher Teagan Gerhart notched her sixth shutout of the season to improve to 17-8 overall. She allowed just four hits and fanned two batters. Utah's Kayce Nieto took the loss, falling to 7-6 overall.
Sophomore third baseman Hanna Winter led the team offensively with three hits, including a double, and a run scored. She also tied her career high with four RBI. Freshman first baseman Kayla Bonstrom was 3-for-4 with an RBI, while senior Sarah Hassman and sophomores Cassandra Roulund and Leah White were all 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Roulund drove in the Cardinal's first run in the bottom of the first inning with a single up the middle. It was the 29th RBI of the season for the right fielder, tying for second on the squad.
Stanford broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth, scoring three runs on four hits. Winter recorded her second double of the season, bringing home freshman Kaitlin Schaberg and Hassman. Bonstrom then hit a single up the middle to score Winter.
The Cardinal added another run in the bottom of the fifth inning. White hit a single through the left side to score Schaberg.
Stanford tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to put the run-rule into effect. With the bases loaded and two outs, Hassman hit an infield single, beating out the throw from Utah shotstop Kelsi Hoopiiaina, to score Roulund. Winter then hit a single to centerfield, plating freshman Jessica Plaza and Schaberg to end the game.
Schaberg finished with a season-best three runs scored.
Stanford and Utah will continue the three-game series on Saturday, April 27. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Smith Family Stadium.