STANFORD, Calif. – No. 20 Stanford picked up a second-straight ACC series win this afternoon, taking down NC State 6-2 to move to 29-12 on the year at 14-6 in ACC play. The win was also the Card’s seventh-straight, extending a season-high winning streak.
For the second-straight day, Taryn Kern led off the game for Stanford with a home run. The senior’s 17th of the season and 43rd of her career was also her fourth in the last five games. Kern has now scored to lead off each of the last four games, going 3-for-3 with two home runs and a walk in the stretch. I
Not to be outdone, Emily Jones singled and came around to score on River Mahler’s RBI knock.
Jones, hitting in the two spot, has now scored in the first inning of each of the last three games. The senior is 2-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch in the last three first innings.
Stanford starter Anna Brewer posted scoreless innings in the first and second, before the Card went to the bullpen in the third. Zoe Prystajko entered with two outs and a runner on, forcing a groundout to escape the inning with the Wolfpack still scoreless.
Brewer exited with 2.2 innings pitched, allowing no runs on just two hits with a pair of strikeouts.
The Card added another run in the third on an RBI groundout from Jade Berry, her 36th run batted in of the season to make it 3-0. Berry’s 36 RBI on the year are the second-most on the team, and give her 134 in her career. Nine more RBI would tie the junior for 10th most in a career in program history.
Three more came in for the Cardinal in the bottom of the fourth, started off by an Ava Gall solo shot to right field. The long ball made it a 4-0 lead, but Kyra Chan brought in two with an RBI single to make it 6-0.
The Wolfpack broke up the shutout with a two-run homer in the top of the seventh, just the fourth hit surrendered by Stanford.
Prystajko earned the win in the circle, finishing with just the two runs allowed on two hits in 4.1 innings. The win puts Prystajko at 14-5 on the season.
Stanford closes the series against NC State tomorrow, with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra, and tickets are still available at Tickets.GoStanford.com.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- Stanford has now won seven-straight games, extending a season high.
- The Cardinal wins a second-straight ACC series, and fourth overall, to move to 14-6 in conference play.
- Senior Taryn Kern hit her 17th home run of the season, and second in the last two games.
- Kern’s home run total has her just two shy of the program’s single season record, which she tied last season.
- Kern has now hit four home runs in the last five games.
- Junior Jade Berry drove in her 36 RBI of the season, the second-most on the team.
- Berry’s 134 career RBI are the most on the team, and put her just nine shy of the 10th most in program history.
- Junior Ava Gall’s home run in the fourth was her fourth of the season and 17th of her career.
- Senior Emily Jones led the Card with three hits, finishing the day 3-for-4 with three runs scored.