Growing Pains

TEMPE, Ariz. – Stanford dropped a pair of games Sunday to conclude its first weekend of play at the Kajikawa Classic.
 
A day after producing its most hits in a single game in the past 10 years, the Cardinal (4-2) struggled offensively against San Diego (1-3) and dropped a 2-0 decision. Stanford's day got rougher with a 24-8 loss against No. 24 Fresno State (4-1) in its final game of the weekend.
 
Despite a tough showing on Sunday, the Cardinal had plenty of bright spots during the opening weekend including a 4-0 start and the emergence of its freshman class.
 
Stanford's offense excelled, with seven starters hitting .300 or better and producing 44 runs in six games. Teaghan Cowles paced Stanford offensively, hitting .619 (13-21) with seven RBIs, seven runs two walks and a triple. Lauren Bertoy (.533), Kristina Inouye (.400) and Kylie Sorenson (.381) also had strong offensive showings.
 
Whitney Burks provided plenty of power, hitting .381 on the weekend with a .762 slugging percentage. Burks led Stanford with two home runs and two doubles.
 
Carolyn Lee (2-1) was excellent in the circle and gave Stanford a quality chance to win in each start. She holds a 1.11 ERA and limited opponents to four runs – three earned – in 19.0 innings. Lee racked up 10 strikeouts and permitted just four walks.
 
Stanford's trio of freshman pitchers each made their collegiate debut and provided contributions in multiple games.
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Lee pitched well but Stanford had trouble getting going offensively against San Diego.
 
Lee threw her second complete game of the season and held the Toreros to two runs on nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
 
Stanford produced a pair of hits and loaded the bases with two outs in the second inning but could not find the hit needed to break through.
 
San Diego took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning after generating a trio of singles. The Toreros generated an insurance run in the sixth inning to double its lead to 2-0.
 
The Cardinal was retired in order in the fifth and sixth innings but made a final push in the bottom of the seventh. Lauren Bertoy led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball. However, Stanford again had trouble getting he hit needed to get on the board.
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Seven Cardinal combined for 10 hits against Fresno State but it was not enough to keep up with a potent Bulldogs offense.
 
Burks and Sorenson were strong offensively. Burks went 3-for-4 with a two-RBI home run and a double. Sorenson was 2-for-2 with four RBIs, a home run and a walk.
 
Stanford's trio of freshman pitchers – Nikki Bauer, Kayler Detmer and Kiana Pancino – were faced with the tall task of trying to tame Fresno State's offense. Detmer made her collegiate debut against the Bulldogs.
 
Stanford fell in an early 8-0 hole in the top of the first inning but battled back with three runs of its own in the bottom half of the frame to cut the deficit to 8-3.
 
Fresno State added a pair of runs in the second, produced six in the third and added two more in the fourth to take a commanding 18-3 lead.
 
The Cardinal continued to battle and made a dent in the deficit with five runs in the fourth inning.
 
The Bulldogs produced its second six-run inning of the day in the top of the fifth to extend its lead to 24-8. Stanford loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth but failed to bring a runner home.
 
Stanford will look to rebound Wednesday when it travels to UC Davis at 2:30 p.m. (PT).