Stanford (4-5)
No. 17/12 Missouri (6-0)
San Jose State (3-8)
Boise State (0-11)
NC State (5-4)
San Diego State (7-3)
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STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford travels to Southern California for five games this weekend at the Mary Nutter Classic in Cathedral City.
The Cardinal (4-5) takes on its first ranked opponent of the season in its tournament-opener against No. 17/12 Missouri (6-0) on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. (PT). Stanford will also take on San Jose State, Boise State, NC State and San Diego State during the weekend.
The Cardinal is coming off a challenging home-opening weekend, going 1-3 with its lone win coming against St. Mary’s. Victoria Molina led Stanford offensively, going 5-for-13 (.385) with five RBIs, a home run, a double, a run and a .692 slugging percentage.
Arden Pettit (.375) and Bessie Noll (.364) also had nice weekends at the plate. Noll produced the defensive highlight of the weekend in the final game of the tournament when she threw out a runner at home from center field.
Live statistics will be available for each game and FloSoftball will live stream each game and can be viewed for a subscription fee.
Victoria Molina led Stanford with a .385 batting average over four games this past weekend. (Photo by Shirley Pelfey)
NOLL PROVIDES POWER
• Junior centerfielder Bessie Noll continued her hot start to the season, going 4-for-11 (.364) with two doubles, four walks, two runs, an RBI over four games at the Stanford Nike Invitational.
• Noll hit three home runs in the first two games of the season to power Stanford’s offense. She finished the first weekend of the year 5-for-16 (.313) with five runs, four RBIs, two walks and a .938 slugging percentage.
• Noll grew up playing baseball in Tokyo, Japan, and only played softball during the summer of her high school years.
VICTORY MOLINA
• Victoria Molina led Stanford offensively at the Nike Invitational, going 5-for-13 (.385) with five RBIs, a home run, a double, a run and a .692 slugging percentage. She hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning against St. Mary’s (Feb. 21) to erase a 4-1 deficit and help send the game to extra innings.
• As a freshman, Molina hit a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning against No. 24/23 Arizona State to propel Stanford to a dramatic 4-2 victory. Three of her four hits last season were home runs.
PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
• Kayla Bonstrom (international relations), a 2015 NFCA All-America Second Team selection, picked up where she left off last season and hit .429 (6-for-14) during the season-opening Kajikawa Classic. She went 4-for-14 (.286) with two RBIs, two runs, two doubles and a walk at the Stanford Nike Invitational.
• Bonstrom was named to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top-50 Watch List earlier this season. She was also selected as a Senior CLASS Award Top-30 finalist.
• Bonstrom was a force at the plate and led Stanford in every major offensive category throughout the 2015 season. She was named a NFCA Second Team All-American, NFCA All-West Region First Team at first base, All-Pac-12 First Team and a Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honorable mention.
Bonstrom was named a Senior CLASS Award Top-30 finalist this week. (Photo by David Bernal)
PETTIT MAKING NOISE
• Sophomore Arden Pettit has as a quality start to her second season and is hitting .417 with four runs and a walk through the first two weekends. She hit .375 (3-for-8) this past weekend at the Stanford Nike Invitational.
• Pettit was one of 22 athletes to receive an invitation to try out for the 2015 USA Softball Junior Women’s (19-Under) National Team. She was named an alternate to the team at the conclusion of the camp and spent time with the team this past summer.
IN THE CIRCLE
• Sophomore Haley Snyder and freshman Carolyn Lee will be the focal points in the circle. Snyder made 29 appearances (15 starts), picking up 38 strikeouts in 112.2 innings before she was sidelined by an injury.
• Lee was a 2015 Cal-Hi Sports All-State third team selection from nearby Dougherty Valley High School and is expected to play a major role beginning early in the season. Sophomore Kaitlyn Lagattuta will likely see some innings in the circle as relief.
SORENSON STARTS STRONG
• Kylie Sorenson had a strong opening weekend at the Kajikawa Classic, hitting .467 (7-for-15) with five RBIs, five runs, five walks, a home run and a .667 slugging percentage.