STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford softball managed two hits with runners on base, Friday night against Oregon State. The Cardinal made those two hits count, as both came in the bottom of the ninth in a 1-0, extra-innings victory to take the series opener.
Kaitlyn Lim – the only player to come off the bench for Stanford – walked it off with a single into right field to punch in Taylor Gindlesperger from third base for the winning run.
Gindlesperger started the ninth inning for the Cardinal (24-13, 6-7 Pac-12) by taking a leadoff hit by pitch to put a runner on. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Emily Young singled up the left side to start the two-out rally for Stanford. Gindlesperger did not hesitate rounding second and used her speed to slide into third safely.
"Base hit, ???????????????? ????????"@kaiitlynliim with the walk off in the ninth!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/ipE7JJf97V
— Stanford Softball (@StanfordSball) May 1, 2021
Stanford received a dominant effort from Alana Vawter in the cirlce, and an errorless game from the defense for the one-run victory. Twice the Beavers (15-21, 3-13 Pac-12) put a runner in scoring position, and twice they went down without scoring a run.
Locked in a scoreless deadlock, Oregon State threatened to take control of the game in the top of the fourth with two runners in scoring position, courtesy of a double down the left field line from Charity Sevaaetesi. Taylor Gindlesperger sent both runners back to the dugout, coming up with the grab on a shallow fly ball into left center and preserve the shutout.
In the fifth inning, the Beavers again put a runner in scoring position off a pair of two-out singles, but again they were not able to plate a run. A groundout to Sydnee Huff at second brought the inning to a close, again preserving the zeroes on the score line.
Vawter went the distance for the 16th time this season, spreading out seven hits for her sixth shutout of the year to improve to 17-5 on the year. In extra innings, she faced the first six batters of Oregon State's
lineup – those batters went 1-for-6 at the plate in the eighth and ninth innings.
Stanford looks to clinch the series with a Saturday doubleheader, scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. PT. Both games will be available on the Stanford Live Stream, with only the first game counting towards the Pac-12 standings.