STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford split a pair of games Saturday at the Louisville Slugger Classic, defeating Santa Clara 13-5 in six innings and falling to No. 17/17 Minnesota 9-1 in five innings.
The Cardinal (13-13) provided plenty of offense, hitting .377 as a team over the two games with a .566 slugging percentage. Eight Stanford players combined for 20 hits.
Tylyn Wells and Hanna Winter paced the Cardinal, both going 4-for-7 (.571) on the day. Wells registered two RBIs and two walks, while Winter produced three runs, two RBI and a triple.
“We swung the bats really well today,” said Stanford head coach Rachel Hanson. “We saw great results against Santa Clara and had some hits go right to people against Minnesota. We’re stepping in the box aggressively and looking for good pitches early in the count. We’re being disciplined about not swinging at other pitchers’ strengths out of the zone.”
Haley Snyder, Kylie Sorenson and Wells each saw time in the circle Saturday. Sorenson (2-1) picked up the win against Santa Clara while Wells (0-2) received the loss against the Golden Gophers.
“Everyone who pitched today brought their full effort,” said Hanson. “They battled throughout the day and I was pleased with all of their efforts.”
--
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Santa Clara (5-15) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 6 | 2 |
| Stanford (13-12) | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | X | 13 | 16 | 1 |
| Stanford, Calif. | Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium | ||||||||||
| Pitching | ||||||||||
| Win: Kylie Sorenson (2-1) | ||||||||||
| Loss: Ciara Gonzales (5-7) | ||||||||||
Stanford erupted for 16 hits en route to a convincing 13-5 victory in six innings Saturday against Santa Clara.
Seven Cardinal batters registered at least one hit with Stanford’s first four batters combining for 12 hits. Hanna Winter, Tylyn Wells, Kayla Bonstrom and Erin Ashby recorded three hits apiece.
Cassandra Roulund led Stanford with three RBIs, while Winter, Wells, Ashby and Kylie Sorenson recorded two each. It was Roulund’s eighth consecutive game with at least one hit.
Haley Snyder got the start in the circle and did well, limiting the Broncos to four runs on three hits and five walks. Kylie Sorenson (2-1) entered the game in the fourth and picked up the win, going 3.0 innings and allowing just one run on three hits and one walk.
The Cardinal was excellent defensively, turning two double plays and nearly turning two more during the game.
Stanford jumped out to an early lead batting through its lineup and putting up six runs on four hits in the first inning. Ashby opened the scoring with a RBI-single to right field. After an error extended the inning, Roulund drilled a bases-clearing RBI-double to left-center field.
Santa Clara responded in the following frame with two runs to cut Stanford’s lead to 6-2. The Cardinal got the two runs back in the bottom of the third inning when Wells and Ashby delivered RBI-singles.
The Broncos applied more pressure in the fourth scoring three runs to cut Stanford’s lead to 8-5. Sorenson provided some breathing room for the Cardinal in the bottom half of the inning when she hit a two-run home run to left field to extend Stanford’s lead to 10-5.
The Cardinal rallied for three runs on two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Winter hit a RBI-triple down the left field line to open the scoring. Wells brought Winter home with a RBI-single up the middle.
Bonstrom sealed the run-rule victory with a RBI-double to left-center field to bring Wells around from first and make the score 13-5.
--
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Minnesota (17-4) | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | X | X | 5 | 6 | 2 |
| Stanford (13-13) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | X | 13 | 16 | 1 |
| Stanford, Calif. | Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium | ||||||||||
| Pitching | ||||||||||
| Win: Sara Groenewegen (10-2) | ||||||||||
| Loss: Tylyn Wells (0-2) | ||||||||||
Stanford found itself in an early hole against Minnesota, permitting six runs in the top of the second inning.
The Cardinal had its opportunities offensively with runners reaching base in four of the five innings. However, Minnesota pitcher Sara Groenewegen (10-2) did well in the circle to halt any potential Stanford rally.
Winter, Wells, Sorenson and White registered a hit apiece for the Cardinal. Wells has registered at least one hit in every game this weekend.
Wells got the start in the circle and battled through 2.0 innings, allowing six runs on six hits and one walk. She was relieved by Sorenson in the third who went 3.0 innings with two strikeouts, allowing three runs on four hits and one walk.
The win is Minnesota’s second all-time against the Cardinal, with Stanford currently holding a 4-2 advantage. It is Golden Gopher’s head coach Jessica Allister’s second career win as the head coach at Minnesota against her alma mater.
Allister graduated from Stanford in 2004 with a degree in economics. A four-year starting catcher for the Cardinal, Allister played more games in a Stanford uniform than any player in program history (266). An All-American and three-time all-conference selection, she led the team to four NCAA Regional appearances and was the starter behind the plate in both of the program's trips to the Women's College World Series.
Stanford looks to get back in the win column Sunday with matchups against Minnesota (10 a.m. PT) and Santa Clara (12:30 p.m.).