STANFORD, Calif. – A late Stanford rally was not enough to overcome an early deficit Sunday, falling to No. 1/1 Oregon in the series finale, 7-2.
The Cardinal (27-21, 3-15 Pac-12) was held hitless through the first five innings but broke through in the sixth and seventh innings with a series of sustained offense. However, the late surge was not quite enough to close the seven-run lead the Ducks (44-5, 17-1 Pac-12) built through the first five innings.
Cheridan Hawkins (27-3) made her second appearance of the series for the Ducks, allowing two runs on five hits, walking three and striking out eight. Hawkins did not allow a hit until the bottom of the sixth inning.
Kayla Bonstrom continued to pace Stanford offensively, going 1-for-4 with two RBI. She finished the Oregon series 5-for-10 with three doubles, two RBI and a .800 slugging-percentage.
Kylie Sorenson, Hanna Winter, Kaitlin Schaberg and Tylyn Wells recorded a hit apiece.
Wells (2-3) got the start in the circle for the Cardinal and allowed four runs on three hits and four walks in 2.0 innings. Madi Schreyer came in as relief in fourth inning and finished the game strong, allowing one run on three hits and two walks, and striking out five.
Oregon got on the board in the second inning when Courtney Ceo bounced a grounder to second base that Schaberg was unable to handle, scoring Jasmine Smithson-Willett from third.
The Ducks continued to roll in the third inning with all nine batters making a plate appearance and posting five runs to take a 6-0 lead. Oregon added an additional run in the top of the fifth inning on a successful first-and-third double-steal to take a 7-0 advantage.
Stanford found its offensive rhythm in the bottom of the sixth inning when Leah White led off with a walk, followed by an RBI-double to right-center by Bonstrom. Sorenson followed with a single and moved Bonstrom to third. However, the rally was quickly halted when Hawkins retired the next three batters.
The Cardinal continued to pressure in the bottom of the seventh when Winter, Schaberg and Wells delivered consecutive singles to load the bases to start the inning. Stanford pushed a run across on a fielder’s choice by Bonstrom but was unable to sustain the rally.
The road does not get any easier for the Cardinal as it plays a midweek game on Wednesday at Saint Mary’s before traveling to No. 2/2 UCLA for a three-game set. Friday’s game at UCLA will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks, while Saturday’s will be on ESPNU and Sunday’s on ESPN.