May 19, 2012
LAFAYETTE, La. - A grand slam by freshman Cassandra Roulund propelled the No. 16 Stanford softball team to a 6-2 win over No. 23 Baylor, Saturday, in an elimination game in the Lafayette Regional at Lamson Park in Lafayette, La. The Cardinal now stands at 40-18, reaching the 40-win mark for the 13th time in program history. The Bears end their season at 34-22 overall.
Junior pitcher Teagan Gerhart threw her second complete game of the day and earned the win. She finished with seven strikeouts and is now 32-12 overall. Baylor's Courtney Repka took the loss, falling to 16-13.
Stanford broke the game open in the fifth inning, scoring six runs. Senior Jenna Becerra led off the inning with a single to right field. She advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by designated player Tylyn Wells. With two outs, freshman Hanna Winter hit an infield single, and a throwing error by Repka allowed Becerra to score from second. After rookie Leah White drew a walk, senior Ashley Hansen hit a double to right center, scoring Winter.
Still in the top of the fifth with two outs, the Bears decided to intentionally walk junior Jenna Rich to load the bases. Roulund made them pay, hitting a grand slam to left field. It marks the third long ball of the year for the rookie.
Baylor avoided the shutout, posting two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Left fielder Sydney Wilson ripped a double to left center, scoring shortstop Jordan Strickland from first. Second baseman Kathy Shelton then hit a single to centerfield to score Wilson.
Stanford will face host Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday, May 20 in the regional championship at 1 p.m. CT. The Cardinal will need to defeat the Ragin' Cajuns twice on Sunday to advance to the super regional round of the NCAA Tournament next week.