BERKELEY, Calif. – Stanford softball rallied from a 4-1 deficit to force extra innings, but an error in the bottom of the 10th dealt the Cardinal (26-12, 5-6 Pac-12) the loss, Friday at Levine-Fricke Field.
Trailing by three runs in the sixth inning, Kaitlyn Lim started the Stanford rally with a triple to right center field to lead off the frame. Emily Young doubled down the left field line to bat Lim across the plate, and two batters later the former scored on a wild pitch to make it a one run game. Sydnee Huff would score the tying run in the top of the seventh on an Aly Kaneshiro sacrifice fly, and Alana Vawter came on in relief in the seventh to strand the go-ahead run at first base to send the game into the eighth inning.
Lim ended the day 3-for-5 with a pair of runs. Young and Emily Schultz went 2-for-5 at the plate.
Through extra innings, Vawter and the Cardinal defense held the score at 4-4 and overcame multiple high-pressure situations. California (24-17, 6-8 Pac-12) stranded the go-ahead run on first in the eighth inning, and left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.
Playing in the 10th inning for the first time all season, Stanford got singles from Lim, Young and Schultz to push the go-ahead run across the plate. Schultz got the ball to drop between the left fielder and third base only feet into fair territory to give Lim enough time to score from the second for the 5-4 lead.
California rallied on its own to tie the game 5-5 in the 10th inning. Amani Bradley doubled to bat Amanda Kondo in to tie the game. With Kacey Zobac heading for home, the Cardinal completed an 8-4-2 rally to put Zobac out in front of the plate.
Bradley advanced to third on the throw to put the go-ahead run 60 feet from the plate. On a squeeze situation, Bradley was caught in a rundown – but an error by the Cardinal defense gave her time to score the winning run.
Stanford looks to pull a game in the series tomorrow at 2 p.m.