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Softball

Judi Garman Classic

STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford resumes tournament play this weekend with an appearance at the 13th annual Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, California.

The Cardinal (10-7) opens against Charlotte (7:30 p.m.) on Thursday, squares off against Iowa (12:30 p.m.) and host Cal State Fullerton (5 p.m.) on Friday and wraps up competition against Loyola Marymount (12:30 p.m.) and Michigan State (3 p.m.) on Saturday.

It's the fourth tournament of the season for Stanford, which closed out last weekend with three wins over four games at the Stanford Invitational. Those contests followed up a doubleheader split at Sacramento State one day earlier.

Stanford's sophomore trio of Montana Dixon, Alyssa Horeczko and Teaghan Cowles have led the way offensively. Dixon is hitting .333 while leading the team in total bases (31) and RBI (20), the latter a total that also ranks fifth in the Pac-12. Horeczko leads the team in batting average (.421) and runs scored (15) while Cowles is right behind at .373 with 13 runs scored.

The Cardinal offense is getting a serious boost from its performance on the basepaths, leading the Pac-12 with 28 stolen bases in 34 attempts. Stanford's 28 steals nearly equal its entire production from the last three seasons combined (8-10 in 2017, 4-5 in 2016 and 22-26 in 2015). Cowles has yet to be caught in nine tries and ranks second in the conference.

The pitching staff has provided balance and routinely kept Stanford in the game. Maddy Dwyer (0.99 ERA, 63.2 IP, 50 H, 15 BB, 40 K) has thrown two shutouts over her first nine starts while Kiana Pancino (3.50 ERA, 38.0 IP, 24 H, 21 BB, 26 K) tossed the Cardinal's first no-hitter since 2014 in a 12-0 victory over Army two weeks ago.

First-year head coach Jessica Allister earned her 300th career victory during Sunday's 2-1 walk-off win over Santa Clara. Allister compiled a 290-107 overall record (.730) during seven seasons at Minnesota.