STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford rallied for three runs in the seventh inning Sunday against Cal Poly but was unable to find the hit needed with the bases loaded to complete the comeback, falling to the Mustangs 4-3.
The Cardinal (7-4) managed just one hit through the first six innings but batted through the lineup in the seventh to cut Cal Poly’s (5-5) lead to one.
Bessie Noll, Hanna Winter and Tylyn Wells scored runs in the seventh and Stanford had the bases loaded with one out. However, Mustangs pitcher Sierra Hyland (4-2) was able to strike out the next batter and get the final Cardinal batter to pop up to second base.
“We battled, made some good plays and hit some shots right at people that just didn’t fall,” said Stanford head coach Rachel Hanson. “It was one of those games that could’ve gone either way and was well played on both sides. We’ll focus on continuing to keep getting better.”
Stanford finished the Nike Invitational with a 3-2 record, defeating each of the three opposing teams participating including No. 3/4 Alabama, Cal Poly and Pacific. The Cardinal hit .278 as a team, producing 32 runs on 35 hits, including 10 doubles, three triples and a home run.
Five Stanford players hit .308 or higher during the tournament, paced by Leah White who batted .429 (6-for-14) with five RBI, five runs, two triples and a double. Tylyn Wells contributed important at-bats throughout the weekend to hit .400 (6-for-15), while Kayla Bonstrom (.385), Hanna Winter (.313) and Kylie Sorenson (.308) also had strong showings at the plate.
“We took a lot of growth-steps and we’re a better team than we were last weekend,” said Hanson.
Sunday’s game against Cal Poly began as a pitcher’s duel with Madi Schreyer (2-0) and Hyland combining to permit just three hits with no runners advancing past second base through four innings.
The Cardinal was undone in the fifth inning when three wild pitches and an error contributed to four runs for the Mustangs.
Stanford broke through in the seventh inning on an RBI-single by Wells that brought Noll around from second. Kayla Bonstrom cut Cal Poly’s lead to 4-2 with an RBI-single up the middle to score Winter from third.
Jessica Plaza followed with a disciplined at-bat to earn a bases-loaded walk and cut the Mustangs’ lead to 4-3.
The Cardinal was unable to keep its momentum going with the next batter striking out, followed by a popup to second base to end the game.
Stanford will play host to UC Davis on Wednesday at 5 p.m. before traveling to Cathedral City, California, next weekend for the Mary Nutter Classic where it will take on South Carolina, Oklahoma State, Fresno State, Texas A&M and San Diego State.