STILLWATER, Okla. – Stanford Softball’s 2026 came to a close this evening, falling 11-5 at No. 15 Oklahoma State in the NCAA Stillwater Regional final. The Cardinal advanced to the regional final for the fifth-straight season, after earning a seventh-straight trip to the postseason.
Unlike in yesterday’s matchup with the Cowgirls, Stanford struck first today. Zoe Prystajko held Oklahoma State scoreless in the top of the first, and the Cardinal bats went right to work in the bottom half of the inning. Emily Jones went opposite field for a solo home run to make it a 1-0 lead for Stanford.
The Cowgirls answered in the top of the second, pushing an unearned run across off of Alyssa Houston. Houston entered in relief for Prystajko to start the second, working around a walk, a hit and an error to limit the damage to one.
Oklahoma State scored in the third, then added another unearned run in the fourth to go ahead 3-1.
Stanford punched back in the bottom of the fourth, scoring an unearned run of their own. A single and an error put Kyra Chan on third, and Jade Berry scored her with a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
In the fifth inning, a pair of Cowgirl home runs made it a 9-2 game.
Taryn Kern got one back for the Card in the bottom of the fifth, scoring Sydney Boulaphinh on a sacrifice fly to make it 9-3.
Oklahoma State scored two more in the top if the sixth to make it 11-3, putting Stanford up against the wall facing a run-rule in the bottom of the sixth.
Down to the Card’s final out, Ava Gall kept Stanford alive with a two-run homer to straightaway centerfield. The Cardinal headed to the top of the seventh trailing 11-5.
Anna Brewer held Oklahoma State to their first scoreless inning since the first, but the Cardinal was unable to rally in the seventh.
Stanford is eliminated from the 2026 NCAA Championship, ending the Cardinal’s season. The Card finishes the year 39-15 overall, setting a new best for conference wins with 18 in the inaugural season at Stanford Softball Stadium.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- The Card moves to 51-32 all-time in NCAA Regional competition, and 65-53 in the postseason.
- Senior Emily Jones’ home run was her third of the season and 14th of her career.
- Junior Jade Berry’s sacrifice fly in the fourth inning gave her 146 in her career, tied for the ninth-most in program history.