STANFORD, Calif. – No. 22/17 Stanford split a pair of games Friday on the second day of the Louisville Slugger Classic, defeating Portland State and falling to North Dakota State.
The Cardinal (19-6) opened the day with a convincing 10-0 victory over Portland State (3-11) before dropping a 4-0 decision to North Dakota State (12-6). Stanford moved to 4-5 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.
Kylie Sorenson (1-0) got the start in the circle against Portland State and picked up the first victory of her collegiate career. She did not allow any runs and gave up two hits and one walk while striking out two in 4.0 innings of work.
Tylyn Wells made her collegiate debut in the circle, tossing a scoreless fifth inning to close the game.
Stanford struck early against the Vikings, posting six runs in the bottom of the first inning. Three of the first four Stanford batters reached base on a walk to load the bases. Hanna Winter scored the first run of the game when Cassandra Roulund hit a ground ball to the Portland State shortstop which she mishandled, allowing each runner to advance safely.
A single by Erin Ashby brought two more runners home to give the Cardinal a 3-0 lead. Kaitlin Schaberg picked up the fourth walk of the inning to record an RBI, and was followed by a sacrifice fly from Wells to put the Cardinal up 5-0. Bessie Noll reached home on a wild pitch to complete Stanford’s six-run inning.
Noll led the Cardinal offensively, going 2-for-3 and scoring two runs over the two games. She was the only Stanford player to record two hits on the day, with eight players notching a hit apiece.
The Cardinal tacked on three additional runs in the third inning when Winter delivered an RBI-single, followed by a two-RBI single from Leah White. Stanford added its 10th run in the fourth inning when Kayla Bonstrom doubled and was brought home by a pinch-hit double by Alyssa Lombardo.
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Stanford found itself in an early hole against North Dakota State, with the Bison taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
After Madi Schreyer (15-4) struck out the first two batters to begin the game, the Bison’s Cheyenne Garcia reached base on a single through the right side of the infield. Garcia then advanced to second on a passed ball. The next batter hit a ground ball to second base that Ashby was unable to handle, allowing Garcia to round third and score the first run of the game.
North Dakota State’s Amanda Grable followed with an RBI-single to put the Bison up 2-0. Schreyer struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Schreyer was excellent in the circle, allowing one earned run, seven hits and one walk, while striking out 10 in 7.0 innings of work. She has thrown 13 complete games this season and holds a 1.37 ERA.
Stanford had multiple opportunities to get on the board but was unable to capitalize, leaving five runners on base – four of which that were in scoring position.
With a North Dakota runner on second base in the third inning, Sorenson delivered the defensive play of the day when the Bison’s Jenina Ortega hit a hard grounder to the left side of the infield. Running to her right, Sorenson dove for the ball headed to the outfield and snared it off the hop. She quickly got to her feet and threw out the Bison runner trying to advance from second.
The play came at a crucial time, saving a run and eliminating a possible North Dakota State rally.
The Bison added two runs in the seventh to extend its lead. Stanford was unable to reach base in the bottom half of the inning and dropped its first contest at home on the year.
The Cardinal will play back-to-back games again Saturday with BYU at 12:15 p.m. (PT) and Portland State 2:30 p.m.