STANFORD, Calif. – A seventh-inning rally pushed No. 2/3 UCLA to extra innings, but Stanford was unable to complete upset, Friday night in front of a sold out crowd at Smith Family Stadium. The Bruins (32-3, 10-0 Pac-12) scored twice in the top of the eighth to hold on to the 3-1 win.
Down 1-0, the Cardinal (24-10, 3-4 Pac-12) received hits from Sydney Steele and Emily Schultz to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh. Steele led off the inning with a double down the left field line, and Schultz got the ball to drop in left field to put runners on the corners with no outs. Dani Hayes came on to run for Schultz, stealing second to put two runners in scoring position. Kaitlyn Lim flew out to left field on a sacrifice fly, giving Steele more than enough time to score the tying run.
With two outs in the inning, Emily Young drew the walk to put runners on first and second. Starting pitcher Alana Vawter came up in a pinch-hit opportunity, but she struck out on a 2-2 count to send the game to extra innings.
The Bruins rallied in the top of the eighth with a solo home run and a RBI single – both with two outs – to take a 3-1 lead into the final frame. Stanford led off the bottom of the inning with a single, but three straight outs would end the inning.
The Cardinal moves to 2-2 in extra inning games this season. It's only the sixth loss this season when holding opponents to three or fewer runs.
Despite being dealt the loss, Vawter provided a strong outing in the circle for Stanford. The junior went the distance for the 14th time this season and allowed only two earned runs.
Stanford looks to even the series tomorrow at 2 p.m.