Tonight, No. 22 Stanford softball (16-2, 0-0 Pac-12) takes on Sacramento State (8-7, 0-0 Big Sky) in a double-header, looking to extend its win streak to twelve games heading into another home tournament, the Cardinal Classic, this weekend.

The Cardinal will be favored to continue their streak over the two-game slate as Sacramento State is a mediocre team in a weak conference. At 8-7, the Hornets are first in their conference as every other team in the region has a losing record. Sacramento State has played two games against ranked opponents and lost both, a good indicator of the success Stanford will hope to have against the in-state opponents.

As is the case with most teams on double-digit winning streaks, Stanford comes into the back-to-back games red hot and received its due respect in national circles this week. Softball America, who previously had the Cardinal unranked, moved the team into the top 25. Individually, junior Teaghan Cowles nabbed both Pac-12 and NFCA National Player of the Week while freshman Emily Young received Pac-12 Freshman of the Week honors.

Cowles’s National Player of the Week award is the first for a Cardinal player since 2013, and Cowles gave the NFCA no other choice. She batted 9-for-11 over the weekend with an .889 OBP and 1.455 slugging while scoring 11 runs from the leadoff spot. Meanwhile, Young went 6-for-13 with three runs, two doubles, a triple and three RBI. The freshman recorded a .462 OBP and .769 slugging.

The first game of the double-header is scheduled for 4 p.m. with the second planned at 6 p.m. barring game-time or weather setback.

Contact Andrew Tan at tandrew ‘at’ stanford.edu