STANFORD, Calif. – Alyssa Houston had a career day in the circle, striking out eight in 5.0 non-consecutive hitless innings, as the No. 18 Cardinal topped Nevada 4-1 to move to 19-3 on the season.
Stanford struck first, thanks to Jade Berry tripling off the wall in right-center in the second inning. The extra-base knock brought in Allie Clements, who had led off the inning with a hit by pitch.
Houston exited after the fourth inning, with seven strikeouts to just one walk. The seven punchouts matched a career high, with the sophomore holding Nevada hitless.
Nevada answered with a solo home run in the fifth, tying the game at 1-1 on what would be the Wolf Pack’s only hit of the afternoon.
The Cardinal retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to back-to-back doubles from Caelan Koch and Kylie Chung to make it 3-1. Koch came home to score and make it 4-1 on a sacrifice fly from Emily Jones.
Houston re-entered in the top of the sixth, picking up right where she left off and setting a new career high with her eighth strikeout in the seventh inning.
Zoe Prystajko entered in relief with one out and two runners on in the seventh, keeping the Pack scoreless to earn her second save of the year.
The Cardinal keeps alive a perfect streak at Stanford Stadium to start the year, moving to 14-0 at home.
The Cardinal and Wolf Pack meet again tomorrow, with first pitch scheduled for at 12:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are available at Tickets.GoStanford.com, and the game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- Stanford moved to 19-3 (5-1) on the season.
- The Cardinal moves to 14-0 at home to open the 2025 season.
- Sophomore Alyssa Houston posted a career-best eight strikeouts in the win, moving to 5-1 on the season.
- Freshman Zoe Prystajko earned her second save of the year, posting 0.2 innings of hitless relief.