The Stanford softball team dropped its first game of the weekend before winning its last four to run its record to 12-3.
First up on Friday was Memphis, which snuck by the No. 16 Cardinal, 2-1, thanks to superb pitching from Carly Hummel, who outdueled Stanford sophomore pitcher Teagan Gerhart. The Cardinal managed only six hits—and only one for extra bases—against Hummel.
Stanford bounced back later that night with a thorough pounding of North Dakota State to get back on the winning trail. The Cardinal run-ruled the Bison after scoring 12 in just four innings, while senior pitcher Ashley Chinn shut out NDSU, allowing only two hits in five innings. Junior shortstop Ashley Hansen and freshman third baseman Michelle Prong each homered for Stanford, and the two combined for seven RBI.
On Saturday, the Cardinal continued its success with two more victories. In the first game of the day, Stanford edged by its only ranked opponent of the weekend, No. 24 Kentucky, 4-2. All six runs were scored in the first three innings, and it was up to Stanford’s pitching staff to keep the Wildcats off the board after that. Gerhart got the start for the Cardinal, but she lasted only two-plus innings before Chinn took over. Chinn pitched five innings and allowed only one unearned run to pick up her second victory in as many days.
Following up the hard-fought win, Stanford had another cakewalk as it destroyed Colorado State, 16-2, in five innings. The Cardinal had more runs than outs on offense, and five players had multiple RBI. Gerhart took the easy victory by allowing two runs in five innings, and she also scored two runs of her own as part of the offensive onslaught.
In the final game of the weekend, Stanford held off UC-Davis, 5-3, to finish the invitational strong. Gerhart pitched four solid innings, allowing only one run on three hits, and she left holding a 2-1 lead. The Cardinal tacked on three more runs in the next two innings, and Chinn minimized the damage in the seventh to notch her first save of the season. Hansen and junior catcher Maya Burns each knocked in a pair of runs for Stanford, which finished its first homestand of the year with a 4-1 record.
The Cardinal will travel to Fullerton, Calif., next weekend to compete in the DeMarini Invitational.