GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Facing a pair of elimination games on Saturday at the Gainesville Regional, Stanford (33-20) defeated Boston University (37-20), 13-2 in five innings, before dropping a 2-0 decision to Boise State (36-15).
The Cardinal took advantage of five BU errors in game one on Saturday, plating six runs in the third, five in the fourth, and two in the fifth to run away with the victory. Stanford tagged the Terriers for nine unearned runs, including all six in the third. The six-run third inning was highlighted by a three-run homer from senior Whitney Burks.
Win » ??
— Stanford Softball (@StanfordSball) May 18, 2019
Stanford defeats Boston University, 13-2, to advance to a second elimination game of the day! The Card will play @BroncoSportsSB at 4 pm PT today for a spot in the Gainesville Regional final on Sunday!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/Z1KPBJEZzs
Stanford allowed a pair of unearned runs in the second as Boston University got on the board first, but Montana Dixon brought the Card back even at 2-2 with a two-RBI double off the wall to kickstart the offense in the third.
Dixon, who finished 2-for-3, collected her third RBI of the game in the fifth, as Stanford blew the game open with five runs. Freshman Emily Schultz provided the big swing in that frame, splitting the gap in right centerfield to clear the bases with a three-RBI double.
Junior Kristina Inouye collected three hits in the victory, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored, while Schultz and Burks joined Dixon with two hits each.
Senior Carolyn Lee earned the victory after logging the first four innings to improve to 12-10. Ali DuBois was saddled with the loss after surrendering four unearned runs over 2.2 innings of work. The setback moved DuBois to 23-11 on the season.
Game two against Boise State proved to be a pitchers' duel, as freshman Molly Millar locked up with Boise State's Kelsey Broadus. Millar would ultimately take the loss, but she pitched extremely well, allowing just two runs on five hits over 4.2 innings before falling to 0-3.
Broadus got the victory for the Broncos, tossing a complete game and allowing just four hits and four walks to improve to 15-6.
Scoreless headed to the fifth, Stanford had an opportunity in the top of the inning as Teaghan Cowles singled to right with two out, and the ball got past right fielder Ashlyn Adams and rolled all the way to the wall. Cowles sped around the bags and was waved home, but a good relay cut her down at the plate to keep the game scoreless headed to the bottom of the frame.
Perhaps carrying momentum from the defensive side of the ball into the home half of the inning, Boise State reached with a leadoff hit-by-pitch and bunted the runner to second. Millar induced a groundout to keep the runner there, but Kora Wade singled back up the middle and Karlee Johnson turned third and slid around the tag of Dixon only to retreat and touch the plate on a second effort. Rebekah Cervantes followed with an infield single that skipped off the glove of a diving Klingaman at second base and allowed Wade to come around to score to run the tally to 2-0 in favor of the Broncos.
Stanford managed a two-out rally in the sixth, drawing a pair of two-out walks, but Broadus induced a pop up from Schultz to end the threat and keep the Cardinal off the board.
Refusing to surrender without a fight, Klingaman laced a two-out single into right field to bring Cowles to the plate as the tying run in the seventh. Cowles, Stanford's leading hitter at .374, hit a ground ball to third that was handled for the final out to end Stanford's first postseason run since 2013.
"I'm just really proud of this team," second-year head coach Jessica Allister said after the loss. "I think the journey of this season was a good one, and one that we should walk out of here with our heads held high. This weekend obviously didn't go the way that we planned, but I thought we were much better today after a rough day yesterday. These seniors have absolutely left their mark on the program, and we will miss them dearly, but I think I can speak for everyone in the dugout that the fall can't come soon enough because we've got work to do and we've got to get better."
The Cardinal closes 2019 with a 33-20 record – the first winning season for the Card since 2014.