STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford was unable to generate the offense needed to overcome an early deficit Saturday and dropped a 7-1 decision to No. 1/1 Oregon.
The Cardinal (27-20, 3-14 Pac-12) had its opportunities to score, most notably in the bottom of the sixth inning with the bases loaded and one out, but could not find the hits needed to break through. Conversely, the Ducks (43-5, 16-1 Pac-12) consistently found the clutch hits needed to take the victory.
Kayla Bonstrom led Stanford offensively for the second consecutive game, again going 2-for-3 with a single and a double. Bonstrom has registered four of the Cardinal’s eight hits through two games against Oregon.
Bessie Noll and Kylie Sorenson each recorded a single apiece. Sorenson reached base in all three at-bats, being hit by pitches in two of three plate appearances.
Oregon’s Karissa Hovinga (13-1) had a strong start in the circle, holding the Cardinal hitless through the first three innings. Hovinga ran into trouble in the sixth inning when Stanford loaded the bases but Jasmine Smithson-Willett came in as relief and got the Ducks out of the jam.
Madi Schreyer (19-12) pitched her second complete game in as many days for the Cardinal, allowing seven runs on eight hits and striking out one. She started the contest strong, keeping Oregon off the board through the first two innings.
The Ducks broke through in the third inning when Janelle Lindvall delivered a two-out two-RBI double, giving Oregon an early 2-0 advantage.
The Ducks posted four additional runs in the fourth inning with another two-out rally. Janie Takeda tripled to left-center to score two runs and was followed by a two-run home run by Kailee Cuico, putting the Ducks up 6-0.
Stanford responded with back-to-back singles from Bonstrom and Sorenson to start the fourth inning but was unable to sustain its rally and push any runs across.
After a scoreless fifth inning, the Cardinal put together its best rally of the afternoon with three of its first four batters reaching base. Noll delivered a bloop-single to left field with the bases loaded, scoring Bonstrom from third. However, that is all Stanford would get with the next batter striking out to end the inning.
The Ducks added one more run in the top of the seventh on an RBI-single by Alexa Peterson to take a 7-1 lead. The Cardinal was unable to generate a rally in the bottom half of the inning and dropped its second consecutive game.
Stanford will look to take the series finale Sunday at noon (PT). Live stats and a radio broadcast on 90.1 KZSU will be available.