STANFORD, Calif. – The 1,134-person crowd at Stanford Softball Stadium got their money’s worth on Friday night, as freshman Addyson Sheppard hit a walk-off grand slam to push the No. 24 Cardinal past No. 5 Florida State 9-8. The Card moves to 24-12 on the season and 10-6 in ACC play, snapping the Seminoles’ 25-game winning streak.
The game featured 17 combined runs, 14 of which came in the final two innings. The game featured just three lead changes, two of which came in the seventh inning.
After a one-two-three top of the first by Zoe Prystajko, the Card jumped out for a pair of runs in the home half of the inning.
River Mahler brought in a run on a sacrifice fly, her third RBI in the last two games despite going 0-for-3 in the stretch. Jade Berry brought in the next run on an RBI triple, driving a ball off the gap in right-center to make it a 2-0 lead.
Florida State cut the lead in half in the second inning, leading off the inning with a solo shot to right field to make it 2-1.
Four innings later, the Seminoles tied the game at two in the top of the sixth. Alyssa Houston took over for Prystajko in the circle, inheriting a runner on base and two outs. The junior struck out the first batter she faced to get out of the inning.
Then in the bottom of the inning, Taryn Kern answered the bell. The senior crushed a three-run home run to right field on the first pitch she saw. The two-out blast put the Card ahead 5-2 heading into the seventh inning.
The final frame was a rollercoaster. The Seminoles took the lead for the first time in the game, scoring six runs on four hits to go ahead 8-5.
In the bottom of the seventh, Kyra Chan got aboard for the third time in the game via a five-pitch walk. Mahler followed it up with a single before a strikeout and infield fly had Stanford down to it’s final out.
Ava Gall fell behind in the count 0-1, but worked the count full to bring the Card down to its final strike. The junior drew a walk, loading the bases for freshman Addyson Sheppard.
Sheppard entered the at-bat 0-for-2 on the day, and had been pinch hit for in the fourth inning before re-entering. After a first-pitch ball, Sheppard hit a 225-foot homer to left field to walk the game off.
Ava Bulanti earned the win in the circle, finishing the game with 0.1 inning pitched, allowing just one hit. The freshman moves to 2-0 on the season, and extends a streak to 7.2 innings pitched without being tagged for an earned run.
After the game, Kern was presented with a Golden Ticket by the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL). The honor means Kern has been selected to play in the AUSL, and she will find out which team selected her at the league’s College Draft on May 4.
The Cardinal will take on the Seminoles again tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN, and tickets are still available at Tickets.GoStanford.com.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- The nine runs scored by the Cardinal mark the 21st time this season the team has scored seven or more runs in a game.
- The walk-off win is the second of the season for the Cardinal, and first since Feb. 22 against Santa Clara.
- The win is the team’s first victory against a team ranked in the top five of the NFCA Coaches Poll since unseating then-No. 1 Texas on Feb. 15, 2025
- The Cardinal will have two more opportunities to win the series, which would give the team its first series win over a top-10 team in the NFCA poll since April 26-28 of 2024, when the team beat then-No. 8 Washington twice in three days.
- Senior Taryn Kern was honored with an Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) Golden Ticket after the game, announcing that she has been drafted in the league for the 2026 season.
- Kern will learn where she has been drafted at the AUSL’s College Draft on May 4
- Kern’s home run in the sixth was her 14th of the season and 40th of her career.
- The 40 home runs with the Cardinal are tied for the third-most in program history, matching Michelle Smith’s total from 2005-2008.
- Kern’s 14 home runs on the season are tied for the fifth-most in a season in program history, joining Jessica Mendoza (2001, 2002) and Jade Berry (2025).
- Freshman Addyson Sheppard’s walk-off home run was her eighth of the season, the second-most on the team
- The grand slam was the team’s first of the season
- Freshman Ava Bulanti moves to 2-0 on the season, picking up the win in the circle.