TEMPE, Ariz. – No. 24/23 Stanford led No. 11/8 Arizona State for six-and-a-half innings Monday but the Sun Devils rallied for five runs in the seventh inning to earn the series sweep over the Cardinal.
Stanford (23-11, 1-5 Pac-12) took a 5-2 lead into the seventh inning but Arizona State (30-5, 4-2 Pac-12) posted three hits – including a walk-off three-run home run – and capitalized on two Cardinal errors to earn the victory.
The Sun Devils’ Chelsea Gonzales and Alix Johnson led off the seventh inning with back-to-back singles. The next two batters reached base on errors, scoring two runs and cutting Stanford’s lead to 5-4. Cheyenne Coyle completed Arizona State’s comeback with a three-run homer to left field.
Despite the loss, there were plenty of bright spots for the Cardinal during the game. Seven Cardinal combined for eight hits and Stanford made multiple highlight-reel defensive plays throughout the game.
Leah White led the team offensively, going 2-for-4, while Jessica Plaza provided power with her team-leading sixth home run on the season. Plaza paced Stanford during the three-game series, going 5-for-11 (.455) with two home runs, three RBI and three runs. White is second on the team with a .371 batting average on the year.
Kayla Bonstrom, Hanna Winter and Tylyn Wells each had a hit and an RBI in the game. Winter is third on the team with a .357 batting average, followed by Bonstrom who’s hitting at a .347 clip on the year. Wells continues to be a threat on the base paths and stole her 10th bag of the season in Monday’s game.
Madi Schreyer (16-6) was strong in the circle, striking out four, while allowing three earned runs and two walks in 6.1 innings. Schreyer holds a 2.41 ERA with 118 strikeouts in 148.1 innings pitched on the season.
Plaza got the Cardinal on the board early with a home run to dead center in the top of the second inning. It was Plaza’s second of the series and sixth of the season.
Stanford extended its lead in the fourth inning, ignited by a strange play. With two on, Hanna Winter hit a hard shot down the left field line that landed near the line and was ruled a fair ball. The Cardinal runners and Sun Devils defense hesitated initially and reacted to the play after the call was made by the umpire. One run scored and Stanford had runners on second and third.
Cassandra Roulund flied out on the next play but a throwing error by Arizona State’s left fielder brought home another run and moved Winter to third. Wells singled to centerfield to bring Winter home and give Stanford a 4-0 lead. After Wells stole second, Bonstrom capped the scoring with an RBI-single to right field.
Arizona State scored two in the bottom of the fifth to close Stanford’s lead to 5-2. The Sun Devils’ five runs in the bottom of the seventh secured the comeback win.
Stanford will play one game next week as it heads to Pacific on Friday at 6 p.m. for a nonconference matchup.