CLEARWATER, Fla. – No. 15/14 Stanford concluded play at the Under Armour Invitational Sunday with a convincing 8-0 victory over Kennesaw State.
It was an early morning for the Cardinal (17-5), which played its first 9 a.m. (ET) game of the season and watched the sun rise on the bus ride to the field.
Madi Schreyer (14-3) was excellent in the circle, pitching a complete game shutout (7.0 IP) and striking out eight. Schreyer allowed six hits and three walks. She holds a 1.29 ERA with 87 strikeouts and has allowed 19 earned runs in 103.1 innings pitched on the season.
Of the 68 hits Schreyer has permitted this year, only 10 have gone for extra bases – a testament to Schreyer’s pitching and the Cardinal’s defense.
Erin Ashby led the Cardinal offensively, going 3-for-3 with a walk, a double and an RBI. Bessie Noll and Cassandra Roulund also recorded multi-hit games with two apiece. Kylie Sorenson reached base in three of four trips to the plate with three walks.
Sorenson finished the weekend 5-for-10 (.500) with a double, a triple, seven walks, two hit-by-pitches and an RBI. She led the team with a .800 slugging percentage and .737 on-base percentage.
After two scoreless innings to start the game, Stanford got on the board in the third inning when Noll delivered a three-run home run to left field. It was Noll’s second homer on the year.
Kennesaw State loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning but Schreyer struck out two consecutive batters to get out of the jam.
The Cardinal stretched its lead to 5-0 in the fifth when Sorenson and Kayla Bonstrom were hit by pitches and Roulund nailed a two-RBI triple down the right-field line.
The Owls loaded the bases for a second time in the game in the bottom of the fifth with two outs but Schreyer got the batter to pop out to second base and end the inning.
Roulund struck again in the seventh with runners on first and second, driving an RBI-double down the right-field line to score Bonstrom from second and move Noll to third. Ashby followed with an RBI-infield single to score Noll and move Roulund to second.
After a single by Jessica Plaza loaded the bases, Hanna Winter capped the Cardinal’s scoring with an infield single to bring Roulund home from third and put Stanford up 8-0.
Kennesaw State loaded the bases in the bottom half of the seventh but Schreyer struck out the final batter to end the game and secure the victory.
The Cardinal plays host to the Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic next weekend. Opponents include BYU, Portland State, North Dakota State and UC Davis.