STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford produced seven hits and Haley Snyder threw her third complete game of the season Friday afternoon but it was not quite enough as the Cardinal fell to Utah 6-3.
Stanford fell to 14-18 overall and 0-4 in conference play, while the Utes picked up their first Pac-12 win on the year to improve to 21-12 and 1-6 in conference.
Kayla Bonstrom continued to swing a hot bat and hit her team-leading ninth home run on the year – a two-run shot to centerfield in the bottom of the first inning. She has at least one hit in nine of the past 12 games, accumulating 20 hits during that span.
Cassandra Roulund led the Cardinal with three hits on the day, including a double in the bottom of the second inning. It is Roulund’s 10th double on the season and 42nd of her career, moving her to 11th all-time on Stanford’s career doubles list.
Hanna Winter contributed two hits and Erin Ashby produced a double. Winter is riding an eight-game hitting streak dating back to March 7.
Haley Snyder (8-10) was strong in the circle, battling through seven innings to earn her third complete game on the season. She allowed six runs – five earned – on 10 hits and three walks.
Stanford found itself in an early hole when Utah produced two runs on three hits in the top of the first inning. The Cardinal responded immediately when Bonstrom delivered a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning to knot the game at 2-2.
Utah added a run in the top of the second to take a 3-2 advantage and the game appeared to heading toward a slugfest. However, the pitchers for both teams settled in nicely and held their opponent scoreless from the third through fifth innings.
Utah manufactured a run in the top of the sixth inning to double its lead to 4-2. Stanford again responded in the bottom half of the frame when Ashby drilled a double to the right-centerfield gap and was brought home on a RBI-single up the middle by Roulund.
The Utes kept the pressure on, rallying for two runs in the top of the seventh to extend its lead to 6-3. The Cardinal put the ball in play in the bottom half of the inning but was unable to find the hits needed to close the gap.
Stanford looks to get back in the win column Saturday when it continues its series against Utah at 2 p.m. (PT).