OKLAHOMA CITY - No. 9 Stanford pushed No. 1 Oklahoma to the limit and nearly survived another elimination game before falling 4-2 on Monday afternoon at the Women's College World Series.
Tied 2-2 through three innings, the game remained scoreless until Tiare Jennings' two-run double in the ninth proved to be the difference, as two-time defending NCAA champion Oklahoma extended its record winning streak to 51 games.
The heartbreaking defeat closed out one of the best seasons in school history for Stanford (47-15, 14-10 Pac-12), which was two wins away from securing a spot in the championship series.
Making its third NCAA Women's College World Series appearance overall and first since 2004, Stanford delivered back-to-back shutouts of Alabama and Washington after a 2-0 defeat to Oklahoma in its WCWS opener four days ago.
Stanford, which is 6-6 at the WCWS and 54-45 all-time in NCAA Tournament competition, achieved its fifth-best win total in school history and produced its best finish a 48-11 campaign in 2009. The Cardinal, which was a top-10 fixture in the polls and climbed to as high as No. 5, swept through NCAA Regionals in its first hosting opportunity in 12 years before defeating Duke on the road in consecutive games at NCAA Super Regionals.
The Cardinal compiled a 21-game winning streak from Feb. 12-March 17, representing the second-longest stretch in school history, in addition to clinching its first winning conference record since 2013 and posting its most conference victories (14) since 1998.
Stanford jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, thanks to Kylie Chung's fifth homer of the season, a two-out blast to left that scored Taylor Gindlesperger, who led the Cardinal with a 3-for-4 outing at the plate.
Oklahoma (59-1, 18-0 Big 12) chipped away with single runs in the second and third inning, tying the game at 2-2 following a homer from Jayda Coleman.
The next five innings were dominated by clutch pitching, an area that remained a strength for Stanford all season. The 1-2 punch of All-American Alana Vawter and TUCCI/NFCA Freshman of the Year NiJaree Canady delivered once again, keeping the Cardinal within striking distance. Vawter started and went four innings, allowing four hits and two walks while striking out two. Canady entered in relief and covered the final five frames, surrendering four hits and one walk to go along with six strikeouts.
The Sooners eventually broke through with two outs in the ninth, becoming only the second team this season to score at least two runs off Canady, the nation's leader in ERA and strikeouts per seven innings who emerged as one of the nation's best arms.
Gindlesperger and fellow seniors Emily Schultz, Sydney Steele and Emily Young competed in their final game. Along with Tatum Boyd and Gabi Peters, Stanford's senior class combined for a 174-83 overall record and four NCAA appearances, including a 2002 campaign in which the Cardinal won the Tuscaloosa Regional and reached its first Super Regional since 2011.