SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Stanford softball shook off the rust to win its first conference game in nearly two years on Friday.
The Cardinal defeated Utah (11-10, 0-4 Pac-12), 5-2 at Dumke Family Softball Stadium to open conference play. With the 2020 Pac-12 season canceled because the COVID-19 pandemic, Stanford last played a conference game on May 11, 2019.
Stanford (19-4, 1-0 Pac-12) rallied from a 1-0 deficit at the end of the first frame to take the lead with three-run fourth inning. Tied 1-1, Teaghan Cowles drew a bases-loaded walk to bring Kristina Inouye across the plate. Taylor Gindlesperger followed with a single up the middle, and a misplay by the Utah center fielder allowed Sydnee Huff to also score on the play.
Huff added a RBI single in the top of the fifth to bring Emily Schultz across the plate for the 5-1 lead.
The win extended Stanford's win streak to seven-straight.
Cowles ended the day 1-for-3 with walk, and she extended her hitting and on-base streaks to 10 and 15, respectively. Eleni Spirakis was 2-for-4 with a run. Huff was 3-for-3.
Regan Krause followed up her save on Wednesday at BYU with another strong performance in the circle. The freshman struck out five batters in a complete game.
The Cardinal will continue the series against the Utes with a doubleheader tomorrow. The first game will start at noon, with the second to follow 30 minutes afterwards. The second game will not count towards the Pac-12 standings and will go down as a nonconference game.
