STANFORD, Calif. – Erin Ashby hit a grand slam and seven Stanford players combined for 10 hits Sunday but it was not quite enough to upset No. 1/2 Oregon as the Cardinal fell 12-8.
For the second game in as many days, Stanford (16-28, 1-13 Pac-12) gave the Ducks (37-5, 15-2 Pac-12) all they could handle. Each time it seemed Oregon was pulling away, the Cardinal responded with timely hits, good defense and quality pitching to close the gap.
“It was a great game for the team and the fans,” said Stanford head coach Rachel Hanson. “We did what we do best – fight hard from start to finish. It was a great team effort all around.”
It was another impressive showing by Stanford’s pitching staff, which consists solely of position players due to injuries to starting pitchers. Kylie Sorenson, Kayla Bonstrom (0-2), Ashby and Tylyn Wells permitted just four earned runs on 12 hits and eight walks.
Ashby paced the Cardinal with 3.2 innings in the circle and held the Ducks offense to six runs – zero earned – three hits and two walks, while striking out two. She has permitted just three earned runs on eight hits and four walks in 5.2 innings during two games this weekend against Oregon.
Ashby provided a key moment offensively as well, hammering a grand slam on a 3-2 pitch in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut Oregon’s lead at the time to 10-8. It is her fourth home run on the year. Ashby finished the game 1-for-3 with five RBIs, two runs and a walk.
“Erin provided great senior leadership today with her pitching and the grand slam,” said Hanson.
Bessie Noll extended her hitting streak to five games, going 2-for-4 with a double and a single. She has six hits over the past five games, consisting of three home runs, a double and two singles.
Stanford got great production from the bottom of its lineup with eight and nine hitters, Kaitlin Schaberg and Kaitlyn Lagattuta, both going 2-for-4 and delivering hits in key moments. Both scored on Ashby’s grand slam and Schaberg contributed two RBIs.
Tylyn Wells and Kayla Bonstrom also continued their consistent contributions at the plate, registering a hit apiece.
Stanford found itself in an early hole when Oregon jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a two-RBI double by Janelle Lindvall.
The Cardinal responded immediately with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning. The first four Stanford batters drew walks to bring in the first run. Jessica Plaza hit a fielder’s choice RBI to the left side of the infield to bring in the tying run.
Stanford ran into problems in the top of the third when Oregon capitalized on a Cardinal error to rally for six unearned runs. The Ducks Nikki Udria hit a grand slam to help extend their lead to 8-2.
Stanford continued to battle and produced two runs in the bottom half of the inning on a two-RBI single by Schaberg, cutting Oregon’s lead in half 8-4.
However, the Ducks got the two runs back in the following frame to reestablish a six-run lead.
Ashby made a major dent in that lead with a grand slam in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut Oregon’s lead to 10-8. Noll followed Ashby’s home run with a single and Plaza nearly tied the game in the next at-bat with a towering hit that went over the fence just to the left of the left field foul pole. The Cardinal was unable to add additional runs and the game went to the seventh inning 10-8.
Oregon manufactured two runs in the final stanza to double its cushion to four runs. Lagattuta recorded her second hit of the day for Stanford in the bottom half of the seventh but Stanford couldn’t produce the hits needed to close the gap.
The Cardinal will look to take the series Monday at 7 p.m. (PT) in a game televised on the Pac-12 Networks.