STILLWATER, Okla. – Stanford softball split a pair of games against No. 8/10 Oklahoma State on Friday to open the OSU/Tulsa Invite. The Cardinal dropped the opening game, 6-1, before rallying to close the night with a 5-1 win over the Cowgirls (11-5).
Oklahoma State is coming off back-to-back appearances in the Women's College World Series, and the victory is Stanford first over a Top-10 program since defeating No. 5 Washington twice last year (May 14).
GAME ONE RECAP
Tied 1-1 in the middle of the third, walks proved costly for the Cardinal in the first game of the doubleheader against the Cowgirls. Three-straight walks forced Stanford to turn to Kylie Chung in the pen – and a two-run double was all that was needed for Oklahoma State to move ahead on the scoreboard.
Two runs in the fourth and a run in the sixth inning added to Oklahoma State's lead in the opening loss, as Stanford couldn't string together enough hits to make a comeback. Taylor Gindlesperger finished the game 2-for-3 with a RBI double to plate Sydnee Huff in the top of the third.
Tatum Boyd pitched effectively in relief, allowing only two hits to zero walks in 2.1 innings. Boyd struck out three batters in her longest outing of the season.
GAME TWO RECAP
Timely hitting and a dominate performance from Alana Vawter powered the Cardinal to a 5-1 victory in the second game of the day. Sydnee Huff and Taylor Gindlesperger each homered, while Vawter had her fifth complete game of the season to defeat the Cowgirls.
It was Vawter's fourth Top-10 win of her career.
Huff led off the game with her first career home run – and the first leadoff homer by a Stanford player since Teaghan Cowles in 2019 – for the early 1-0 lead. Vawter carried the momentum by retiring the first eight batters she faced. The junior ended the game with eight strikeouts to zero walks.
Both teams traded barbs in the middle innings until the Cowgirls tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The tie game was short-lived, as Stanford responded with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. Kaitlyn Lim singled to center field and advanced to third on a Kate Cressey pinch-hit single. With two outs in the inning, Ellee Eck provided the game-winning RBI on a single up the middle for the 3-1 lead.
Oklahoma State put the go-ahead run at the plate in the bottom-half of the sixth, but Gindlesperger made the grab on a line drive to center field to end the inning. She homered in the top of the seventh for a pair of insurance runs.
Stanford continues the OSU/Tulsa Invite tomorrow at Tulsa, with games against the host-Golden Hurricanes and DePaul.
