The 12th-ranked Stanford softball team put on a strong showing as host last weekend, going 3-1 in an abbreviated Stanford Invitational at Smith Family Stadium. The Cardinal defeated Sacramento State 9-1 in five innings and beat Coastal Carolina 10-2 in six innings to open the tournament on Friday, then had its 14-game winning streak snapped in an eight-inning, 3-2 loss to San Diego State on Sunday. The Cardinal wrapped up the weekend with another win over Coastal Carolina, a 10-0 shellacking that saw senior pitcher Ashley Chinn toss a perfect game for the Cardinal. Saturday’s games were cancelled due to rain.
Sophomore pitcher Teagan Gerhart opened the tournament by giving Stanford (23-4) a win over Sacramento State (8-14), improving her season record to 13-3 in the process. Chinn, meanwhile, got her first of two wins against Coastal Carolina (14-17) on the weekend, as she tallied eight strikeouts and held the Chanticleers to just one run in her ninth win of the year.
On the day overall, junior catcher Maya Burns led Stanford at the plate, going 4-6 with four RBI. Junior shortstop Ashley Hansen was also 4-6 and scored three runs, while sophomore first baseman Alix Van Zandt notched a pair of hits and three RBI across both games.
The Cardinal’s momentum might have suffered with the day away from the field, as Stanford came out a bit sluggish against San Diego State (20-13) on Sunday. The host Cardinal didn’t get on the board until the sixth inning, when Hansen hit a solo home run to pull the score to 2-1. Stanford would go on to even the score at 2-2, but fell in the tiebreaking eighth inning.
Chinn gave her team a big pick-me-up in the nightcap, throwing the second perfect game of her career as she struck out four Chanticleers in a 10-0 win. The Cardinal knocked in eight runs in the first inning alone, led by Hansen’s two doubles and three RBI.
Stanford will play host to St. Mary’s tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Smith Family Stadium and then begin Pac-10 play this weekend as Arizona visits the Farm for a three-game series.