The No. 18 Stanford softball team beat Cal State Northridge and No. 23 Fresno State in a pair of elimination games on Friday afternoon to advance to play No. 3 LSU on the final day of the Regional. The Cardinal defeated CSUN 3-0 before downing Fresno in a 1-0 nail-biter.

Sophomore right-hander Missy Penna pitched both shutouts for Stanford. Penna struck out eight and allowed only two hits in the first game before taking her near-flawless pitching to another level against Fresno. She allowed only three hits and had 11 Ks against the high-octane Fresno offense, including a pair of swinging strikeouts with the bases loaded to end the top of the fifth inning.

Penna helped her own cause by scoring two of Stanford’s four runs on the day.

Two of the Cardinal’s three runs against Northridge were the result of savvy base-running. In the fifth inning of the match-up, junior first baseman Erin Howe screened the CSUN shortstop near second base after Missy Penna hit a hard grounder to the left side. The shortstop, Micah Putnam, booted the ball into the outfield, allowing Howe to score.

Two at-bats later, after senior left fielder Jackie Rinehart hit an infield single to move Penna to third, Putnam again deflected the ball into the outfield, this time on a stolen base attempt by Rinehart. Penna scored easily.

Freshman catcher Rosey Neill rounded out the scoring with an impressive solo home run to straightaway center field in the sixth.

Howe injured her right knee after crashing into the Northridge catcher while scoring in the fifth and had to be carried off the field. The exact injury is not yet known.

Stanford’s lone run against Fresno State also came courtesy of a deflection. With Penna standing on second in the top of the third, junior Tricia Aggabao smacked a pitch right back at Fresno pitcher Robin Mackin, who could only redirect the ball into right field, allowing Penna to score.

Penna scored the run in between dominating stretches of pitching. After three singles in the fifth loaded the bases and broke up her no-hitter, Penna retired eight of the next nine batters (four on strikeouts) to ice the game and secure another day of softball for the Cardinal.

The team will face off with LSU at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. If Stanford wins that game, the pair will battle again shortly thereafter, with the winner of that game taking the Regional. LSU, which has yet to lose in this Regional, will advance to the Super Regionals with one win against Stanford.