BOSTON – The No. 16 Cardinal is moving on in the ACC Championship. Stanford topped Pittsburgh 9-2 to move to 40-10 on the season and advance to tomorrow’s quarterfinal against No. 21 Duke. Senior Allie Clements hit the go-ahead home run in the second, and the Card never looked back.
Pittsburgh opened up the scoring in the first, plating a run with two outs to go ahead 1-0 before the Cardinal’s first at-bat.
Stanford answered with a two-out run of their own, as Jade Berry drove in a run in the first to even it at 1-1. An unearned run from Pitt in the second put the Panthers back ahead at 2-1, but Clements was able to answer for the Card in the home half.
The senior crushed her sixth home run of the season, scoring two on the shot to left field to go ahead 3-2.
Then in the third, the Stanford bats came alive. Five runs came across on three hits, with Kyra Chan, Caelan Koch and Kylie Chung each driving in runs to make it 8-2.
Koch drove in another run in the fifth, coming on an RBI fielder’s choice to make it a 9-2 Stanford lead.
The Cardinal pitching staff was sharp to secure the win. Kylie Chung finished with the win, allowing just one earned run in a four-inning start. Zoe Prystajko was near perfect in relief, allowing just one runner to reach base on a walk in 2.2 innings. Then Alyssa Houston came in for the final out – striking out the one batter she faced.
The Cardinal advances to the quarterfinals, taking on Duke at 10:30 a.m. PT. The No. 21 Blue Devils earned the No. 4 seed in the tournament and a bye today. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- Stanford finishes the regular season 40-10 overall.
- The 40th win marks the Card’s third-straight season with 40 or more wins.
- Sophomore Jade Berry and junior Kyra Chan both each in their 58th RBI of the season
- Berry and Chan continue to be tied for the third-most in a single season in program history.
- Senior Allie Clements hit her sixth home run of the season, the ninth of her career.
- Fifth-year Caelan Koch finished 1-for-3, driving in three runs and scoring one herself.
-GoStanford.com-