STANFORD, Calif. – A big night for Kylie Sorenson was not quite enough to lift Stanford to victory against No. 12 UCLA as the Cardinal fell, 13-8, in the series-opener Friday night.
Sorenson did it all for the Cardinal (18-25, 1-15 Pac-12), going 3-for-3 with a home run and two walks, providing multiple defensive highlights at shortstop and pitching 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. She also tallied a team-high four RBIs.
A potent Bruins (35-12, 9-7 Pac-12) offense was ultimately too much for Stanford to overcome. UCLA produced 13 runs on 21 hits, which included five doubles and a home run.
The Cardinal had trouble in particular with Kyliee Perez and Rachel Garcia who went 5-for-6 and 4-for-5 on the day, respectively. Perez scored four times and Garcia generated three-RBIs.
Kiana Pancino (5-5) got the start in the circle for Stanford, which utilized four pitchers to try to slow down the Bruins' offense. Nikki Bauer entered as relief in the second inning before Sorenson took over in the third.
Sorenson, normally the Cardinal's shortstop, held UCLA scoreless in 2.1 innings allowing four hits and one walk. Kayler Detmer came in as relief in the sixth inning to complete the final 2.0 innings.
Stanford was patient at the plate and made UCLA's pitchers Garcia (3.0 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) and Johanna Grauer (4.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 7 BB, 3 K) throw a lot of pitches and work for their outs.
B6 | @kyliesorenson10 puts a dent in the foul pole!
— Stanford Softball (@StanfordSball) April 29, 2017
Two-run homer to cut the deficit to 13-7. #GoStanford https://t.co/TS4y8VR7CE
Kylie Sorenson hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
The Cardinal had a pair of opportunities late to mount a comeback, loading the bases with two outs in the sixth inning and no outs in the seventh, but could only manage one run in the final two frames.
Stanford faced significant deficits throughout the game but was able to cut into the Bruins' advantages multiple times.
Trailing 6-0 in the second inning, Stanford capitalized on a pair of UCLA errors to produce four runs. The rally was punctuated by a two-RBI single to right field by Sorenson.
The Bruins responded with four runs in the top of the third inning to extend its lead to 10-4.
Whitney Burks cut the deficit to 10-5 with a leadoff home run in the bottom half of the inning. It was her team-leading sixth homer of the season and second home run in the past two games.
B3 | @_whitneyalexis sends this one WAY out!
— Stanford Softball (@StanfordSball) April 29, 2017
Team-leading sixth home run. Second homer in past two games.https://t.co/W64vQJvdry
Whitney Burks homered in the second straight game.
UCLA did more damage in the top of the sixth inning with three runs to take a 13-5 lead and were threatening a run-rule victory. However, the Cardinal continued to battle and produced a trio of runs in its half of the inning.
After a leadoff pinch-hit single by Kaitlyn Lagattuta, Sorenson hammered a two-run home run off the left field foul pole, cutting the Bruins' lead to 13-7.
With two outs in the inning the Cardinal drew three consecutive walks to load the bases. Lauren Bertoy followed with an infield RBI-single to make the score 13-8.
That's all the Cardinal would get, however, leaving the bases loaded to end the inning.
Stanford drew a pair of walks to start the seventh inning and the next batter was hit by a pitch to load the bases. The Cardinal was unable to capitalize with the next three batters being retired in order.
Stanford will look to rebound Saturday at 1 p.m. (PT). Live statistics will be available via GoStanford.com.