ATLANTA – The No. 17 Cardinal opened up ACC play with a 2-1 series win, taking the finale today 2-0 behind a scoreless outing from Kylie Chung. The senior tossed 6.1 non-consecutive scoreless innings, allowing just two hits, and River Mahler drove in all the runs Stanford needed to move to 14-3 on the season.
Stanford’s offense started slow, with just one hit through the first three innings. In the fourth, the Card put runner’s on with a pair of singles, but wasn’t able to bring either in to score.
In the fifth, the bats found more of a groove. Caelan Koch led off with a walk, then a single from Sydney Boulaphinh and a walk from Taryn Kern loaded the bases for Mahler. The junior drove a ball off the wall in center field, bringing in two to break the deadlock.
The two runs driven in add to Mahler’s team leading RBI tally, now at 21 on the season. The total, through just 17 games, has already matched the shortstop’s season total from 62 games in 2023 and is just two off her career-best 23 in 2024.
In the circle for the Cardinal, Chung was dealing. After allowing a hit to the second batter of the game, Chung posted 4.2 straight hitless innings of work. Chung’s five innings of scoreless work matched a career high for innings pitched.
After issuing a leadoff walk in the sixth, Chung gave the ball to Alyssa Houston. The sophomore punched out the first Yellow Jacket she faced, then after a flyout to center put a second out on the board, and she gave the ball right back to Chung to finish the inning. Another flyout to Emily Jones in center gave the senior a new career best at 5.1 scoreless innings.
Chung gave up Georgia Tech’s second hit of the game in the seventh, but closed out the win to move to 5-1 on the season.
The Cardinal is back home next weekend, hosting Syracuse for the program’s first ACC home games. The three-game series starts on Friday at 6:00 p.m. PT, with tickets for all three games available at Tickets.GoStanford.com.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- Stanford moved to 14-3 (2-1) on the season, winning the program’s first ever ACC series.
- Junor River Mahler has now driven in 21 runs on the season, just two shy of her career single-season high. Mahler drove in 23 last season in 66 games.
- Senior Kylie Chung set a career high for innings pitched, tossing 6.1 scoreless frames.
- The shutout is the Cardinal’s fourth of the season, and first since Feb. 20 against UC Davis.
- The win is the first of the season when Stanford scored three runs or less.