Cardinal Tamed by HuskiesCardinal Tamed by Huskies
Softball

Cardinal Tamed by Huskies

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford twirled an incredible seventh-inning triple play during Friday's Pac-12 Conference bout with No. 13 Washington at Smith Family Stadium, but eventually fell to the visiting Huskies, 5-2.

With two Huskies on base, Tannon Snow drove a deep shot to Bessie Noll in centerfield. Noll stretched to make the grab, relayed to second baseman Lauren Wegner who shot it over to shortstop Kaitlin Schaberg for one force out, and Schaberg's toss to Kalya Bonstrom at first went for the third out.

Despite the impressive defensive feat, Washington (35-13 overall, 15-8 Pac-12) totaled 13 hits in the contest to hand Stanford (13-34, 0-23 Pac-12) the setback.

Stanford did not have much trouble getting runners on base - the leadoff batter reached safely in all but the fourth inning - but struggled getting them across the plate. The Cardinal left two stranded in each of the first two frames before cashing in when catcher Jessica Plaza went with a Casey Stangel third-inning offering to drive in Stanford's first run of the series. It was Plaza's 14th RBI on the season.

Stangel was responsible for Stanford's two runs. However, Stangel showcased a stunning display of batmanship, going 4-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.

Hailey Bator (1-0), the Washington lefty, earned her first win on the year. Bator was on point, limiting the Cardinal for the better parts of her four-frame outing, fanning six.

Bonstrom extended her hitting streak to seven games with a first-inning single through the right side.

Schaberg steered the Cardinal offense by whacking a team-high two hits.

Carolyn Lee (6-20) was touched for nine hits and Haley Snyder tossed 3.0 scoreless innings of four-hit ball.

Julia DePonte's two-run shot in the second opened the scoring for Washington.

Trysten Melhart's single in the fourth was somewhat cheap, dribbling down the third-base line and feigning a hop past the foul line until it settled in front of the bag, to help the Huskies load the bases. Lee walked in a run to make it 4-2 in favor of the visitors.

Washington would add another score in the fifth.

Stanford will recognize its senior class prior to Saturday's regular-season finale. First pitch is slated for Noon (PT) with a live broadcast on Pac-12 Network.