For the second straight tournament, the Stanford softball team put in a solid performance at the Under Armour Invitational, but it is also worth noting that it failed to capitalize on all of the opportunities available to it. The No.15 Cardinal (17-5) managed to go 3-2 against its competition in Florida, notching victories over Central Arkansas, Georgia State and Kennesaw State, while falling to host South Florida and suffering a surprising loss to Central Connecticut State.
Freshman Maddie Schreyer continued her dominance in the circle this weekend, as the Woodinville, Wash., product yielded only one earned run in 29 innings of work. Schreyer began the tournament with a dominant two-hitter against Central Arkansas (8-14). Over the course of 6.1 innings, Schreyer struck out six UCA batters while forcing 10 groundouts to only two flyouts in a 7-3 victory.
After throwing 97 pitches against Central Arkansas, Schreyer still managed to pitch a complete game against South Florida (13-5) in a 3-2 loss to the Bulls in the second half of the Friday doubleheader. While Schreyer was able to scatter five hits and not give up an earned run to USF, the 2012 Washington Gatorade Player of the Year had a costly two-base error with the Cardinal holding a slim 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning that ultimately kept the Bulls’ rally alive. USF would score three runs in the frame to seal its upset of the Cardinal.
In turn, in her last two starts of the weekend, Schreyer absolutely stifled Georgia State (11-6) and Kennesaw State (8-8), striking out 19 batters in two complete-game victories. Finally, Schreyer pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings against Central Connecticut State in relief of Kayla Bonstrom and Kylie Sorenson after CCSU third baseman Alexis Debrosse and center fielder Kat Malcom blasted 2-run home runs in the tops of the second and forth innings, respectively. On the season, Schreyer now has a 14-3 record with a 1.29 ERA and a 0.3 flyout to groundout ratio.
At the plate, the Card had a much better performance this weekend than its showing last weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, as it posted a .306 team batting average in its five games, led by junior Erin Ashby, freshman Kylie Sorenson and sophomore Kayla Bonstrom.
Ashby followed up on her outstanding effort at the Stanford Nike Invitational with another great weekend in Tampa. The La Crescenta, Calif., native hit .412 in 17 at-bats over the course of the Under Armour Invitational. Ashby began her weekend with a towering three-run home run against Central Arkansas – with her team trailing 1-0 in the top of the sixth inning, Ashby jumped on the first delivery from UCA starter Ciara Clampitt, crushing the pitch to left field to give her team a 3-1 lead.
After posting an RBI single against Georgia State, Ashby capped off the weekend with a 3-for-3 day and an RBI at the plate against Kennesaw State in the Card’s 8-0 win over the Owls. She started the game on Sunday morning with a double to left-center field in the top of the second inning before posting an RBI single in the top of the seventh inning to give the Cardinal a 7-0 lead. On the weekend, Ashby led the team with 11 total bases while tying for the team lead in RBIs with five.
Kylie Sorenson also continued her domination of opposing pitching this season, as the freshman from Stevenson Ranch, Calif., batted .500 with seven walks to notch an astounding .737 on-base percentage. Sorenson had an RBI double against South Florida to give the Card a 1-0 lead in its Friday afternoon matchup with Bulls; the West Ranch High School graduate also had a leadoff triple to start the top of the third inning in Stanford’s loss to Central Connecticut State (2-3).
Finally, Kayla Bonstrom had a strong showing at the plate for the Cardinal. Bonstrom, a Tucson, Ariz., native, tied for the weekend-high mark in RBIs with Ashby while posting a .450 on-base percentage and scoring five runs. The 2013 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year started off the invitational with four singles and an RBI against Central Arkansas. Subsequently, Bonstrom notched a bases-clearing triple in Stanford’s 7-1 win over Georgia State on Saturday morning in Clearwater, Fla. Bonstrom’s triple in the top of the third inning plated Kylie Sorenson, Hanna Winter and Leah White as part of a six-run, seven-hit inning for the Card.
Stanford softball will now return home to host the Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic in the Card’s final non-conference tournament before the start of Pac-12 play against California. Stanford will open the Louisville Slugger Classic with a Thursday night matchup at 6 p.m. against BYU, followed by Friday afternoon contests against North Dakota State and Portland State and a Saturday doubleheader against BYU and Portland State. Finally, the Cardinal will cap off the classic with a Sunday matinee against UC-Davis.
Contact David Cohn at dmcohn ‘at’ stanford.edu.