STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford softball shut out Wagner, 4-0, and overwhelmed Cal State Bakersfield, 17-1, on Sunday for its third straight doubleheader sweep in the Easton Classic. The Cardinal has won six consecutive games for the first time since 2014.
Stanford (19-8), which has matched its win total from last season, has won 10 of its last 11, and the current six-game winning streak is the program's longest since starting the 2014 season with 13 straight victories.
The Cardinal went 6-0 in its home tournament and outscored its opponents 49-4, which included four shut outs. Stanford's 17 runs in the tournament finale were the most since a 17-2 win over Pac-12 rival Cal on May 4, 2013.
During Sunday's doubleheader sweep, Teaghan Cowles was 4-for-7 with three runs, Hannah Howell went 4-for-6 with three runs and four RBI, Whitney Burks finished 5-for-6 with three runs and two RBI, and Kristina Inouye was 2-for-5 with three runs. In all, Stanford's 1-through-6 hitters combined to go 18-of-32 (.563) with 16 runs and 13 RBI.
Game 1In the 4-0 win over Wagner (4-10), sophomore Nikki Bauer (2-0) earned her second win in as many days with four scoreless innings of relief. She struck out four and allowed just one hit.
Maddy Dwyer started and retired all six batters she faced, including three strikeouts, while Kiana Pancino struck out two of the three hitters she faced in the seventh. In all, the Cardinal struck out nine Seahawks and did not allow a runner to reach scoring position.
Stanford jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. After the first two Cardinal were retired, Howell singled to start the rally. Burks followed with a single, and Howell scored on an error. Molly Fowkes laced a double into right center to score Burks and Inouye, who had reached on the error.
The Cardinal added a run in the second. Lauren Frost dented the wall in center with a leadoff double. She later scored on a sacrifice fly by Montana Dixon.
Burks finished the opener 2-for-3 with a run, and Cowles added another multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 effort that included a double.
Holy smokes, Fowkes! ??
— Stanford Softball (@StanfordSball) March 11, 2018
That girl is on fire!????
2?-run double in the first #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/FGZayaXUyA
Game 2Stanford batted around twice in the first three innings.
CSU Bakersfield (1-17) quickly went up 1-0 in the opening frame, but it took just three batters for Stanford to regain the lead. Cowles walked to lead off and Dixon followed with a triple that hit halfway up the left field wall. Sophomore Hannah Howell immediately singled home Dixon to go up 2-1.
In the second, Stanford sent 13 batters to the plate and scored seven runs. Howell had a two-run double, Pettit and Cowles added RBI singles, and Fowkes and Victoria Molina each worked bases loaded walks.
It was more of the same in the third when Stanford sent 12 more batters to the dish, and plated eight more runs. Pettit walked with the bases loaded, Lauren Wegner and Howell each singled in another run and Burks tacked on a two-RBI double. Maya Jackson closed out the scoring with a sacrifice fly.
Cowles was 2-for-3 with three runs, Howell scored twice and finished 3-for-4 with 4 runs batted in, and Burks was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with two runs and two RBI.
In the circle, Dwyer (10-5) earned the win with a perfect inning of relief, and Carolyn Lee tossed two scoreless frames to close it out.
Up NextStanford returns to action on Sunday with another doubleheader against Wagner and CSU Bakersfield. First pitch is at 11 a.m. at Jill and Boyd Smith Family Stadium. The Cardinal then has a week off before it opens Pac-12 play at Utah, March 24-26.