STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford softball saw strong play in the circle and at the plate in a 9-2 win over San Jose State on opening day of the 2021 season. The victory opened a three-game series against the Spartans at Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium, set to conclude with a Saturday doubleheader.
The Cardinal put together a balanced game, led by a 6.0 inning gem from sophomore Alana Vawter. The right-hander struck out nine Spartans while giving up only five hits and one earned run. Gabi Peters came on in the top of the seventh inning to close out the game, setting down the three batters she faced.
Taylor Gindlesperger was a double away fromhitting for the cycle, going 3-for-4 at the plate. The junior batted in a pair of runs, scoring twice on her own. She hit a home run to center field in the bottom of the fifth to kick off a three-run inning for Stanford.
San Jose State struck first, scoring a run in the top of the first thanks to an RBI single up the left side from Karizma Bergesen. From there, Stanford took control of the remainder of the game.
The Cardinal responded in the bottom of the first with runs from Teaghan Cowles and Gindlesperger. The latter hit a triple in the two hole, and later scored on a single to center field from Emily Schultz.
While Stanford failed to score a run over the next three innings, the brilliant pitching of Vawter kept the narrow lead for the Cardinal -- holding San Jose State hitless in four different innings. The Cardinal finally struck with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 5-1 lead, and they added four more runs in the bottom of the sixth to put the game out of hand.
First pitch between the two teams to start Saturday's doubleheader will be at 1 p.m., with both games being aired through the Stanford Live Stream.