Bats Power Stanford Split

LAKEWOOD, Calif. – Stanford split a pair of games at the Long Beach State/Cal State Fullerton Louisville Slugger Classic on Saturday, dropping a 12-7 decision to Northwestern and defeating Long Beach State 11-5 in eight innings.

The Cardinal (11-10) had a big day offensively with six players batting .333 or higher and nine players registering at least one hit over the two games. Erin Ashby paced Stanford going 4-for-8 (.500) with eight RBIs, two runs and a home run. Kylie Sorenson also batted .500 (2-for-4) and provided the exclamation point against Long Beach State with a three-run home run in the eighth inning.

Stanford had difficulties defensively against Northwestern but settled in nicely against Long Beach State. Kaitlin Schaberg made a series of quality plays at shortstop, while Tylyn Wells and Cassandra Roulund made spectacular catches in the outfield, crashing through the outfield fence on multiple occasions to make plays.

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The Cardinal hit well and received strong performances in the circle but was plagued by four costly errors in its 12-7 defeat against Northwestern.

Madi Schreyer (3-3) got the start at pitcher and limited the Wildcats to three earned runs on four hits and five walks with one strikeout in 3.0 innings. She was relieved by Haley Snyder who also permitted three earned runs on three hits and four walks with a strikeout in 3.0 innings.

Ashby led Stanford offensively going 2-for-4 with four RBIs, while Jessica Plaza, Hanna Winter and Schaberg registered a RBI apiece.

The Cardinal ran into issues defensively with four errors contributing to six runs. Northwestern did most of its damage in the fourth inning when it put up six runs on three hits and two errors to take a commanding 10-4 lead.

Stanford continued to battle and put up three runs in the top of the fifth to cut the Wildcats lead to 10-7. However, Northwestern produced leadoff home runs in the fifth and sixth innings to extend its lead to 12-7 and secure the victory.

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Stanford held the lead against Long Beach State for a majority of the contest but saw its advantage evaporate when the 49ers tied the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Long Beach State seemingly had the upper hand to claim the victory in the seventh with runners on second and third with one out but Sorenson was able to pitch out of the jam to send the game into extra innings.

The Cardinal exploded for six runs in the top of the eighth, capped by a deep three-run home run by Sorenson, to claim the win.

Schaberg broke the ice in the extra frame when she reached base on a bases-loaded fielder’s choice to put Stanford up 6-5. Kayla Bonstrom followed with a RBI-single to bring Wells home. Ashby stepped to the plate delivered a RBI-single of her own to stretch the Cardinal’s lead to 8-5.

With two runners on, Sorenson smashed her second home run of the season over the left field fence to put Stanford up 11-5.

Haley Snyder was resilient in the circle going 5.1 innings and allowing four runs on five hits and two walks with one strike out. Sorenson entered the game in the sixth and permitted one run on two hits and one walk in 2.2 innings.

The Cardinal received offensive contributions from a variety of players with eight registering at least one hit. Wells and Ashby paced Stanford with three hits apiece. Ashby tallied a team-high four RBIs.

Freshman Victoria Molina made her second collegiate start at catcher and belted a moonshot home run just inside of the left field foul pole in the fourth inning. It is her second home run on the season.

Stanford will look to carry its momentum into the final day of tournament play when it takes on Weber State on Sunday at 10 a.m. (PT).