CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – No. 13/11 Stanford split a pair of games Sunday in the final day of the Mary Nutter Classic, earning a comeback win against Syracuse and delivering an impressive performance in defeat against No. 2/3 Tennessee.
Stanford (14-3) opened the day with an 11-5 victory in eight innings against Syracuse (4-5) and dropped a 3-1 decision to Tennessee (12-0) to conclude its weekend of compeition.
Madi Schreyer (11-2) was excellent in the circle for the Cardinal, pitching all 14.0 innings. The freshman began the day striking out seven Syracuse batters, allowing four earned runs on eight hits, and walking two in 8.0 innings of work. She allowed three runs on five hits, walked six and struck out three in 6.0 innings against Tennessee.
Schreyer threw four complete games over the weekend, finishing 2-2 with a 3.54 ERA. She allowed 11 earned runs on 27 hits and recorded 16 strikeouts in 28.0 innings of work.
Nothing came easy for the Cardinal this weekend and Sunday was no different.
Stanford took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first against Syracuse on an RBI-double by Kayla Bonstrom, but saw its lead quickly disappear when the Orange hit a three-run home run in the bottom half of the inning.
The Cardinal closed the gap to 3-2 in the third inning after an RBI-single by Bessie Noll brought Leah White around from second.
White had an outstanding weekend offensively, leading the team in batting average (.429) and on-base percentage (.500). White’s six hits tied for a team high.
Syracuse added runs in the fourth and fifth inning to extend its lead to 5-2.
Down to its final three outs, Stanford delivered an impressive seventh-inning rally to tie the score. Hanna Winter got the inning going with a leadoff walk and was followed by a single from White. Kylie Sorenson ripped a double down the left field line to score Winter and White, and cut the lead to 5-4.
Sorenson was terrific at the plate all weekend, batting .357 with three doubles, and tying for team highs in RBI (3) and total bases (8) in five games.
With Sorenson on second, Noll laid down a sacrifice bunt that the Syracuse pitcher sailed it over the head of the second baseman covering first. Sorenson rounded third and scored to knot the game at 5-5. Schreyer sent the game into extra innings after retiring the Orange’s top three batters in order.
Stanford continued to roll offensively in the extra frame, beginning with back-to-back-to-back singles from Tylyn Wells, Winter and White. A walk to Sorenson and a sacrifice fly by Bonstrom gave Stanford an 8-5 lead. Cassandra Roulund provided the knockout blow with a three-run home run on a 0-2 count to put Stanford up 11-5.
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Stanford had a brief 30 minute break after its game against Syracuse to prepare for Tennessee. Schreyer remained in the circle and held the Lady Vols scoreless through the first two innings.
Tennessee broke through in the third inning on a leadoff home run to right field by Megan Geer. The Cardinal remained focused and retired three of the next four batters to keep the Lady Vols advantage at 1-0.
Stanford leveled the score at one apiece in the top of the fifth. Roulund delivered a one-out single and advanced to second when Plaza laid down a sacrifice bunt that was mishandled by the Tennessee second baseman, allowing both runners to advance safely.
Wells brought Roulund home with an RBI-single up the middle.
The Lady Vols responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning to retake the lead. After a leadoff single by Tennessee, Stanford retired the next two batters. However, back-to-back singles by the Lady Vols brought a runner home to take a 2-1 advantage. Two consecutive walks scored another runner, giving Tennessee a 3-1 lead.
White led off the sixth with a single, but the Cardinal was unable to bring her home, with the next three batters being retired. Stanford was unable to generate any base runners in the seventh, going down in order.
The Cardinal will make a cross-country trip to Florida next weekend for the Under Armour Invitational, where it will play five games over three days.