TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A rocky start didn't stop Stanford from picking up an opening victory in the Tuscaloosa Regional, as the Cardinal was dominant over the final six innings in a 3-1 victory over Murray State, Friday at Rhoads Stadium.
Starting pitcher Alana Vawter loaded the bases by hitting two batters through the first four batters in the Racers' (40-18-1) order. A RBI groundout gave Murray State the 1-0 lead, but Vawter settled in and got the final batter to pop-up to Sydnee Huff at second for the third out.
From that moment on, Stanford's defense was nearly untouchable.
Vawter ended the game with eight strikeouts while holding the Racers to two hits over the next six innings. 61 of Vawter's 85 pitchers were strikes as she kept hitters off balance through the rest of the evening to pick up her 23rd victory of the season – eclipsing her win total from 2021. The Cardinal (37-19) defense retired 17 of the 19 batters it faced over the final six innings, while Murray State was unable to advance a runner into scoring position during that stretch.
Offensively, Stanford saw contributions from nearly its entire lineup. Six different batters recorded a hit, led by two from freshman Johnna Schroeder. The Cardinal tied the game in the second inning thanks to aggressive baserunning during a two-out rally. Dani Hayes drew a walk and reached third on a double from Emily Schultz. Hayes scored on an infield single from Schroeder to tie the game at one apiece.
The Cardinal took the lead thanks to a double from Kaitlyn Lim in the bottom of the fifth. Taylor Gindlesperger singled up the middle and advanced to second after Huff reached on a catcher's interference to put the go-ahead run in scoring position.
Lim followed with a double deep to the wall to push Gindlesperger across the plate, while Huff was just as fast to score from first for an insurance run. The extra run would not be needed as Vawter and the defense didn't allow another runner on the next two innings.
The win is Stanford's first win in the opening game of a regional since 2013 and advances the program to the winner's game on Saturday against host Alabama. That game will air on ESPN2 at noon PT.
