STANFORD, Calif. – The No. 18 Cardinal topped San José State 7-3 tonight, led by Taryn Kern’s second-straight three-hit performance.
San José State struck quickly, scoring in the top of the first to go ahead 1-0. The run came off freshman Anna Brewer, who earned the start to make her collegiate debut. After allowing the early score Brewer settled in to finish with just the one run allowed in two innings, striking out three.
Stanford’s answer came in the second, when Kyra Chan crushed a ball off the right-field foul pole. The two-run shot put the Card ahead 2-1, and gave Chan the distinction of hitting the first Cardinal home run in the new Stanford Softball Stadium.
The Spartans answered back in the third however, plating a pair to re-take the lead at 3-2.
The lead held until the fifth, when the Cardinal rallied with three-straight extra base hits. Addyson Sheppard led off with a double, then came around to score when Mylia Perez followed it up with a two-bagger of her own. Taryn Kern brought her home with an RBI triple to put the Cardinal ahead at 4-2.
After a scoreless top of the sixth, the Card added to the lead in the home half. Emily Jones and Sheppard got on with back-to-back hits, before Kern drove one over the fence in left-center for her first home run of the season.
The homer plated three to make it a 7-3 Cardinal lead, and has Kern sitting at 6-for-8 through two games. The senior’s driven in four runs and scored three herself, with four extra-base hits on the young season.
Alyssa Houston was perfect in the seventh inning to secure the win and her second save of the season. Freshman Elena Krause earned the win, with two runs allowed over three innings of relief work. Krause finished with four strikeouts in her collegiate debut.
Through her first two appearances of the season, Houston has a pair of saves in 3.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts and just one hit allowed.
The Cardinal is back again tomorrow, with a pair of games on day three of the Stanford Invitational. The team takes on No. 24 Oklahoma State at 3:30 p.m., followed by a rematch with the Spartans at 6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are on sale at Tickets.GoStanford.com, and the game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- Senior Kyra Chan hit the Cardinal’s first home run in the team’s new home, going yard in the bottom of the second.
- Sophomore Mylia Perez’s game-tying double in the fifth was the first extra-base hit of her career.
- Freshmen pitcher Anna Brewer and Elena Krause each made their collegiate debuts, with Brewer earning the start and Krause earning the win.