STANFORD, Calif. – The No. 18 Cardinal moved to 4-0 this season, picking up a pair of run-rule wins on day three of the Stanford Invitational. The Card slugged 26 runs across 10 innings of play, topping No. 24 Oklahoma State 10-0 before scoring even more in a 16-4 win over San José State.
Stanford started hot, scoring six runs on four hits as the team batted around the lineup in the first inning. Ava Gall drove in the first with an RBI single, but Joie Economides did the bulk of the damage with a three-run homer to centerfield. Addyson Sheppard capped the inning with a two-run double to make it a 6-0 Cardinal lead after the first inning of play.
The Card kept pouring on, adding a pair of runs in the second with an RBI single from Economides and an RBI double from Emily Jones to push it to 8-0.
Freshman pitcher Ava Bulanti exited after the second inning, finishing with a strikeout and a walk in a hitless collegiate debut.
Gall came back in the third with a two-run bloop single, making it a double-digit lead at 10-0 through three.
Alyssa Houston earned the win in the circle, posting three shutout innings in relief with five strikeouts. Through three appearances, Houston is 1-0 with two saves in 6.1 scoreless innings. The junior has struck out nine in the span, only allowing four hits.
In the nightcap, San José State struck for three runs in the first inning. The Cardinal responded in a big way, scoring four in the first and seven in the second to take a commanding 11-4 lead.
Jade Berry got the scoring started with an RBI double, then Kyra Chan and Ava Gall each went yard to push the Card ahead 4-3 after the first.
The Spartans were able to score on an inside-the-park home run to start the second, but it would prove the last run allowed by Elena Krause in the circle. Stanford exploded for seven runs in the home half of the inning, starting with a bang as Addyson Sheppard hit her first career home run.
Economides followed it up four batters later, driving in a pair on a bases-loaded single. After Chan walked to re-load the bases, Jones singled to score two more and make it 9-4. Then, after leading off the inning with a homer, Sheppard closed the scoring with a two-run single to make it 11-4.
River Mahler and Ella Murchison drove in runs in the third to make it 13-4. Then in the fourth, freshman Adriana Callahan made her first collegiate hit a big one – Callahan crushed a two-run homer to make it 15-4. Then to cap the night’s scoring, Zoe Prystajko singled in a run for her first career RBI.
Stanford closes out the weekend tomorrow, taking on California at 12:30 p.m. PT. Tickets are on sale at Tickets.GoStanford.com, and the game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- Freshman pitcher Ava Bulanti made her collegiate debut, earning the start in the circle against Oklahoma State.
- Joie Economides hit her first home run of the season, going yard in the first inning against Oklahoma State.
- Freshmen Addyson Sheppard and Adriana Callahan each hit their first career home runs against San José State.