SAN DIEGO – The Cardinal moved to 3-2 on the season today with a come-from-behind 3-2 win over UC Santa Barbara. Freshman Jade Berry made the big play of the afternoon, doubling to score two in the fifth inning.
Freshman Alyssa Houston made her first collegiate start in the circle, surrendering two hits in 2.2 scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
Then in the top of the fifth inning, the Gauchos scored twice to take a 2-0 lead.
Stanford would answer immediately in the bottom half of the fifth, with senior Caelan Koch driving in sophomore Kyra Chan with an RBI single to cut the lead in half at 2-1.
The swing put Koch into the team lead for RBIs with three through five games.
Sophomore Emily Jones would walk in the next at bat, before Berry drove them both home with a two-out double to give Stanford the lead at 3-2.
Sophomore NiJaree Canady entered at the top of the sixth, earning her first save of the season by striking out four in two perfect innings.
The Cardinal wraps up the SDSU Season Kickoff with a 3-2 record, and moves on now to the Clearwater Invitational next weekend. The three-day tournament starts on Thursday, Feb. 15 with Stanford taking on Georgia Tech and No. 3 Florida State in a doubleheader aired on ESPNU. On Friday, Feb. 16 the Card will face a pair of top-10 teams in No. 2 Tennessee and No. 8 Texas on ESPN2. Then the weekend draws to a close with Minnesota on Saturday, Feb. 17 on ESPN+.
