STANFORD, Calif. – A strong start by Stanford pitcher Carolyn Lee was derailed by a pair of miscues in the sixth inning, as the Cardinal fell to No. 3 Oregon, 9-2, in the series-opener Thursday afternoon.
Lee (8-20) held the Ducks (45-6, 15-6 Pac-12) to two singles and a walk through the first five innings but ran into trouble in the sixth. After Danica Mercado led off the inning with a double, Alexis Mack hit a routine ground ball to Stanford's Kristina Inouye at first base.
Inouye stared down Mercado who was making her way from second to third and decided to take the ball to first base for the out. However, she took just a moment too long to make the decision and Mack was able to reach first safely.
The mental miscue would eventually prove costly. Lee hit the next batter to load the bases with no outs.
The Cardinal's second miscue came on the following play when Nikki Udria hit a fly ball to center field. Bessie Noll positioned herself underneath the ball and was preparing to throw home to get the runner tagging from third. However, the ball bounced in and out of Noll's glove allowing the tying run to score and the bases to remain loaded.
The mistakes opened the flood gates for Oregon's offense, which produced five runs in the inning – three earned – to take a 6-2 lead.
A strong start fades after a tough sixth inning.
— Stanford Softball (@StanfordSball) May 12, 2017
Plenty of highlights from today's game. #GoStanford https://t.co/GxdZFkKqeo
Highlights from Stanford's series-opener against No. 3 Oregon.
The Cardinal (19-30, 2-20 Pac-12) was unable to rebound late against Oregon starting pitcher, Megan Kleist, who retired the final 10 Cardinal batters in order.
Oregon rallied for a trio of insurance runs in the seventh inning to extend its lead to 9-2.
It was a tough result for Stanford, which had its second top-10 victory in the past week within reach after defeating No. 7 Washington last Saturday.
Stanford's offense did most of its damage in the fourth inning and produced both of its runs in the frame. Noll singled through the left side of the infield before Whitney Burks hammered a double to right-center field. Noll and Burks came home on RBI-singles by Montana Dixon and Teaghan Cowles, respectively.
Kylie Sorenson hit the ball hard in all three of her at-bats but it went straight to the defense each time, ending her 12-game hitting streak.
It was a game of highs-and-lows for Stanford's defense. Among the highlights were diving stops by Sorenson at shortstop and Lauren Wegner at second base.
The Cardinal will look to rebound in the second game of the series Friday at 5 p.m. (PT).