| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Minnesota (15-4) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 2 |
| Stanford (12-12) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| Stanford, Calif. | Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium | ||||||||||
| Pitching | ||||||||||
| Win: Sara Groenewegen (9-2) | ||||||||||
| Loss: Haley Snyder (7-7) | ||||||||||
STANFORD, Calif. – A late Stanford comeback effort fell short Friday night against No. 17/17 Minnesota as the Cardinal dropped a 10-5 decision at Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium.
After falling behind 7-0 through five innings, Stanford (12-12) rallied for five runs in the sixth inning to cut the Golden Gophers (15-4) lead to 7-5. Minnesota added three runs in the top of the seventh to extend its lead to 10-5 and the Cardinal could not generate the hits needed to close the gap in the bottom half of the inning.
“We did a great job of competing from start to finish,” said Stanford head coach Rachel Hanson. “We still have things we need to clean up but I’m proud of how we competed.”
Haley Snyder (7-7) got the start in the circle for Stanford and showed resiliency throughout the game. After allowing a two-run home run in the first inning, she permitted just one earned run over the next 3.1 innings. Snyder finished the game with five earned runs allowed on six hits and five walks in 5.0 innings.
“Haley played at a high level and really battled against some really good hitters,” added Hanson.
The Cardinal delivered good at-bats against Minnesota ace Sara Groenewegen (9-2) but had trouble stringing hits together with runners on base. Groenewegen registered 10 strikeouts and permitted two earned runs on four hits and four walks in 5.1 innings.
Stanford found itself in an early deficit when Minnesota’s Hannah Granger hit a two-out two-run home run to dead center field.
The Cardinal had opportunities in the second and third innings, getting runners on first and second in both innings but could not find the hits needed to bring them around.
Minnesota doubled its lead in the fourth inning when Erica Meyer singled up the middle to bring in two runs. Kayla Bonstrom made a nice play to cut off the throw from the outfield and pick off Meyer at first base when she made an aggressive turn toward second base.
The Golden Gophers added three runs in the following inning on a home run and back-to-back RBI at-bats to stretch its lead to 7-0.
Stanford broke through in the bottom of the sixth with a five run rally. Jessica Plaza, Leah White and Cassandra Roulund reached base to lead off the inning. A wild pitch brought in the first Cardinal run.
Tylyn Wells hammered a double off the right-center field wall with one out to bring in White and Roulund. Hanna Winter grounded out in the following at-bat but brought in Kylie Sorenson from third to cut the lead to 7-4.
Erin Ashby capped the inning’s scoring with a RBI-single up the middle to bring in Wells and reduce Minnesota’s lead to 7-5.
The Golden Gophers responded with three runs in the following inning to extend its lead to 10-5. Stanford hit the ball hard in the bottom of the seventh but was unable to generate the offense needed to close the gap.
The Cardinal will look to return to the win column Saturday with games against Santa Clara (11 a.m. PT) and Minnesota (4 p.m.).