Coming off its first conference win of the season at Oregon State, Stanford softball (18-24, 1-14 Pac-12) heads home this weekend for a three-game series against the No. 12 UCLA Bruins (33-12, 8-7). With the first win in the bag, the Cardinal have a boost in confidence, but the Bruins will be tough to beat as UCLA has been ranked in the national top 15 for the entire season.
Stanford has seen impressive play on several fronts, and its freshman class has broken out this season. Teaghan Cowles and Kristina Inouye have made their presence known, with Cowles leading the team in hits and Inouye coming up clutch in recent games. Freshman hurler Kiana Pancino was outstanding in her last outing, holding Oregon State to three runs in 7.1 innings of relief. The senior class has also stood out, with Kylie Sorenson and Whitney Burks tied for most RBIs on the squad with 28 apiece.
The Cardinal are 20-65 all-time against UCLA, and their last win came in 2013. First pitch will be Friday at 6 p.m., with a 1 p.m. start on Saturday. Sunday’s “Bark in the Park” game begins at noon, so come out, watch some softball and pet some pups.
Contact Olivia Hummer at ohummer ‘at’ stanford.edu.