May 4, 2013
BERKELEY, Calif. - The No. 16/17 Stanford softball team tallied a season high 17 hits as it knocked off No. 12/13 California 17-2 in five innings, Saturday, at Levine-Fricke Field. The Cardinal moves to 34-17 and 11-9 in the Pac-12, while the Golden Bears drop to 35-14 and 9-11 in the conference.
Stanford's 15-run win is the largest margin of victory over Cal in school history. The Cardinal's 17 runs scored were also a season high.
Freshman pitcher Kelsey Stevens threw a one-hitter and matched her career high with 12 strikeouts. She is now 13-7 overall. Cal's Nisa Ontiveros took the loss, falling to 4-5.
Freshman first baseman Kayla Bonstrom notched a career high four hits, including her seventh home run of the season, and scored a career high four runs to go with four RBI. Sophomore third baseman Hanna Winter also tallied four hits, while sophomores Leah White and Cassandra Roulund recorded three hits apiece.
The Cardinal picked up right where it left off on Friday, scoring 10 runs on eight hits in the top of the first inning. Eight of the nine Stanford hitters reached base at least once in the inning. Bonstrom, who hit her home run in the inning, and Winter were both 2-for-2 and combined for four RBI.
The Bears got two back in the bottom of the first as catcher Lindsey Ziegenhirt hit a two-run shot to centerfield.
Stanford responded in the top of the third, plating four runs on five hits. Roulund, Winter and Erin Ashby all had RBI singles in the inning. White also scored on an illegal pitch by Nikki Owens.
The Cardinal tacked on another run in the top of the fourth as Bonstrom scored on a wild pitch by Owens.
Bonstrom's fourth hit of the day was an RBI single to left field, which scored senior Sarah Hassman in the top of the fifth. An RBI fielder's choice by Roulund brought home White to score the team's 17th run of the game.
The Cardinal will play for the series sweep of the Bears on Sunday, May 5. First pitch is slated for Noon PT at Levine-Fricke Field.