Despite breaking their six-game losing streak early last week, the Stanford Cardinal (12-17, 0-6 Pac-12) struggled offensively all weekend and were ultimately swept by conference opponent Oregon State (24-9, 4-5 Pac-12) 15-1, 9-1, 3-2.
After eight different batters managed hits in a rare away victory against Santa Clara last Tuesday, the Cardinal failed to muster any significant offensive threats throughout the weekend. Despite competing well with the Beavers in the third game of the series, the Cardinal once again failed to close out the game with a victory, eventually losing the game on a 10th inning single.
Unlike the Sunday game of the series, the Cardinal failed to execute both offensively and defensively during the first two games, getting outscored by the Beavers by a total score of 24-1 over those 10 innings. During the first two games of the series, Stanford batters only managed a .114 batting average, going 4-35 and striking out 21 times.
On the mound, the Beavers unleashed their two star pitchers against the Cardinal, freshman Meehra Nelson and senior Bev Miller, with great success. Miller, a right hander, pitched 12 innings on the weekend, giving up only 7 hits and 1 run, and ultimately dropping her ERA to 3.04 on the season.
The Beavers hitters, meanwhile, couldn’t be stopped throughout the entire series. In their deconstruction of Stanford’s pitching the Beavers averaged .333 on the plate, going 31-93, while always looking like a threat for an explosion of runs. Senior Mikela Manewa was one of many great hitters for the Beavers, with the 2nd basemen going 5-11 and scoring 2 runs over the series for the Beavers.
For the Cardinal, freshman right-hander Carolyn Lee continued her leadership over the short Stanford pitching rotation, pitching 12 innings and giving up 15 hits on the weekend. Despite her poor numbers, Lee did pitch a complete 10 innings to close out the series and reconciled her poor performance on her Friday night start.
Improving the team’s batting percentage is key to future success. The Cardinal have struck out 160 times this season, nearly double the number of their opponents, and have earned 70 less hits than their opponents on the season.
With this series sweep the Cardinal continue their struggling conference season, in which they are winless in six tries. After a short one-game matchup against University of the Pacific on April 6, the Cardinal will continue their conference schedule on the road against a strong UCLA squad from April 9-11.
Contact Lorenzo Rosas at enzor9 ‘at’ stanford.edu.