STANFORD, Calif. – A nine-run second inning propelled Stanford to a 10-2 victory against Cal Poly in its home opener Friday at Smith Family Stadium. The back half of the Cardinal's evening to christen the Stanford Nike Invitational saw the home squad drop a 15-6 decision to No. 3 Alabama.
Lauren Bertoy, Kayla Bonstrom and Jessica Plaza registered two RBI apiece and seven Cardinal recorded a hit in the opener.
The Cardinal (5-3) fended off a Cal Poly (4-3) rally in the top of the fifth to take a 9-2 lead into the bottom half of the frame. Bertoy delivered a two-out RBI-single to secure the run-rule victory.
Haley Snyder (3-3) entered the game in relief to pick up the win, while the Mustang's Sierra Hyland (3-1) picked up her first loss on the season.
Alabama (9-0) broke open a 6-6 stalemate through four innings with a five-run outburst in the fifth, including a two-run double by Kallie Case and a two-run homer by Demi Turner. Turner scored twice with five RBI on the evening.
Stanford rallied from a 6-1 hole thanks largely in part to Kyle Sorenson's three-run dinger down the leftfield line in the home half of the third. Leah White also had a multi-RBI effort by bringing home two Cardinal.
Hanna Winter had three of Stanford's 10 hits, while Alabama's Haylie McCleney matched her for game-high honors. Alabama out-hit the Cardinal, 14-10, but left five runners stranded compared to 11 for the Cardinal.
Snyder shouldered the loss after scattering nine hits and 10 earned runs in 4.2 frames of work. Leslie Jury (3-0) relieved starter Alexis Osorio in the fourth and contributed 3.2 innings of four-hit ball. Jury also held Stanford scoreless to earn the win.