STANFORD, Calif. – A pair of solo home runs and a two RBI night from Aly Kaneshiro was enough to give 24th-ranked Stanford the 3-0, series opening victory over No. 25/22 Oregon, Friday night at Boyd & Jill Smith Family Softball Stadium.
The win is the sixth over a Top-25 team for Stanford (34-16, 9-10 Pac-12) this season. The 34 wins are the most by the Cardinal in a single season in Jessica Allister's tenure as head coach, and the most in a season since 2013.
Kaneshiro was 2-for-2 on the night with a double and a home run – her fourth of the season. Her solo home run on an 0-2 count, after fouling off six pitches, was the game-winning run on the night as she went to deep left-center to give the Cardinal the 1-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the third, Sydney Steele hit her third home run of the season on a solo shot to left field to extend Stanford's lead.
Despite making three errors in the game, Stanford's defense limited the Ducks (29-17, 8-14 Pac-12) to two hits on the night. Alana Vawter picked up her ninth shutout of the season despite striking out only one batter, as the junior did not issue a single walk. Oregon was 0-for-8 with runners on base and 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
The best chance for the Ducks to score came in the fourth inning where a single and an error put runners on second and third with one out. Rachel Cid hit a ground ball to Steele at third base, who tracked the runner down the basepath and made the throw into for Kaneshiro to make the tag at the plate to keep the run from scoring. A groundout to Vawter in the circle ended the inning.
Kaneshiro added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth off a double to the gap in left center. Kaitlyn Lim reached on a bunt single, and she had the speed to score from first on Kaneshiro's double.
Stanford looks to clinch the series on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. on Pac-12 Networks.