In yet another disappointing conference series for the Cardinal, the Stanford softball team (13-23, 0-12) stretched their most recent losing streak to six with a sweep by No. 20 Arizona Wildcats (31-12, 8-4) this past weekend.
Despite some strong individual play from the Cardinal, offensive inconsistencies remained the largest of many problems facing Stanford this weekend. Stanford batters combined for a dismal 11-70 on the weekend while only scoring 4 runs over the 19 innings played.
Junior shortstop Kylie Sorenson provided one of the few highlights for the Cardinal this series with her team-leading 8th home run ball this season. Even though Sorenson’s homer brought the Cardinal within one, Stanford couldn’t complete the comeback, and it was a downward slide from that point on for the Cardinal.
Freshman left-hander Carolyn Lee (6-14) pitched some solid innings but overall couldn’t find a way to confuse the Wildcat hitters. On her two losses over the weekend, Lee gave up 12 earned runs in just 11 innings while also walking 8 batters. The Cardinal will need better pitching performances if they hope to find a conference victory this season.
In contrast, the Wildcat’s offense continued to be a strength, as every single Wildcat starter earned themselves at least one hit over the three-game series. Arizona’s hitters scored a total of 19 runs on 29 hits over the series, making almost every pitch the Cardinal pitchers threw look hittable for their hot bats.
Leading this offensive explosion for the Wildcat was freshman infielder Joelle Krist, who batted .500 over the series and scored 3 runs with one homer this past weekend. Krist’s powerful bat earned her Pac-12 player of the week, becoming just the second Wildcat freshman to earn that award this season.
Meanwhile, senior Danielle O’Toole continued her dominance on the mound for the Wildcats, pitching two complete games.
Moving on from this sweep, the Cardinal will now travel to Salt Lake City where they hope to pick up their first conference victory this season. Stanford has found some success on the road, beating both Santa Clara and Pacific in single games. The Cardinal’s last conference victory came in Salt Lake City, a history they will hope to replicate.
The Cardinal begin play in Utah on Friday at 5:00 p.m.
Contact Lorenzo Rosas at enzor9 ‘at’ stanford.edu.