TUCSON, Ariz. – Stanford ran into an No. 19/16 Arizona offense that was firing on all cylinders Sunday, dropping a 22-5 decision in five innings.
The Wildcats (37-12, 12-6 Pac-12) took a commanding 15-0 lead after the first two innings and never looked back, taking advantage of Stanford’s (16-32, 1-17 Pac-12) pitching staff comprised solely of position players due to injuries to starting pitchers.
Despite the significant deficit, the Cardinal showcased its resiliency and continued to battle generating four runs in the third inning, leaving the bases loaded in the fourth and producing a run in the fifth.
Lauren Wegner hit the first home run of her career, while Kayla Bonstrom and Jessica Plaza homered as well. Plaza also doubled along with Tylyn Wells who registered her second double of the season.
“The team fought, battled and went up to the plate and swung hard,” said Stanford head coach Rachel Hanson. “It was great seeing Wegner get her first career home run, Bessie light it up offensively and defensively, and Plaza getting hot at the plate again.”
Bessie Noll contributed a RBI-single in the third inning. She has at least one hit in eight of the past nine games. Noll also made an outstanding diving catch in center field as she was running toward home on a hard line drive that was dipping.
“I don’t think there’s much that can stop her right now,” said Hanson. “She can definitely hit the best pitching in the country and it’s exciting to watch her develop.”
The individual highlights were not enough to keep pace with a potent Arizona offense that hit six home runs and three doubles. The Wildcats’ Hallie Wilson accounted for half of her team’s home runs, hitting three to register eight RBIs.
Kylie Sorenson (4-10) got the start in the circle and went 1.2 innings before being relieved by Erin Ashby. Kaitlyn Lagattuta came in to close the game, eating up 2.1 innings in the circle.
Stanford had its opportunities offensively throughout the game with baserunners in four of the five innings, including loading the bases in the top of the fourth inning. However, the Cardinal had trouble stringing together hits to produce runs.
After two walks with two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Chelsea Goodacre opened the game’s scoring with a three-run home run that barely snuck over the right-center field fence. It was good line-drive contact by Goodacre that carried in windy conditions to center field. Mandie Perez followed with a double and was brought home by Mo Mercado to make the score 4-0.
Plaza registered the Cardinal’s first hit of the game in the top of the second inning with one out when she doubled to left field. However, a pop fly and a strikeout halted Stanford’s momentum.
The Cardinal ran into trouble in the bottom half of the second when Arizona rallied for 11 runs on nine hits to take a commanding 15-0 lead. The Wildcats were primarily powered by three home runs, including two by Wilson.
Stanford showcased its resiliency and grit in the following frame, producing four runs on four hits to close the gap to 15-4. Wells led off with a double off the left field fence and was brought home on a RBI-single by Noll.
Wegner hit the first home run of her collegiate career, a monster two-run shot to left field that landed well past the outfield fence. After an Arizona pitching change, Bonstrom hit a towering solo home run to right-center field to cut the Wildcats’ lead to 15-4.
“We knew that Lauren was capable of that and it’s a great example of a freshman stepping up and coming up big,” said Hanson. “We’re enjoying getting some of the younger players some time and watching them deliver.”
Arizona’s Alexis Dotson hit her first career home run with two runners on in the bottom of the third inning to stretch Arizona’s lead to 18-4.
Wells and Noll drew back-to-back walks with one out in the top of the fourth inning, and Bonstrom loaded the bases when she was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. However, the Cardinal could not generate the hit needed to bring in runs.
Wilson provided the punctuation mark on the Wildcats’ victory and her day at the plate with a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The Cardinal continued to battled and saw Plaza hit her third home run of the season in the top of the fifth inning to make the score 22-5. Stanford could not keep the momentum going to close the gap and avoid the run-rule decision.
Stanford returns home next weekend for its final home series of the season when it plays host to No. 23/22 Arizona State for a three-game series beginning Friday at 7 p.m. (PT).