Stanford softball (4-1, 0-0 Pac-12) dropped its first game of the season on Tuesday against Santa Clara (1-1, 0-0 WCC). The Broncos got revenge on the Cardinal for Sunday’s 8-0 rout on the Farm and held Stanford scoreless in the 4-0 outcome.
Santa Clara’s Regan Dias, who gave up five earned runs in four innings on Sunday, shut down the Cardinal, pitching a complete game. The Cardinal offense only logged two hits and a walk against Dias, while striking out four times.
The Cardinal started freshman pitcher Reagan Krause, who struggled early. She ceded a walk and two singles in the bottom of the first, which resulted in an early 1-0 Broncos lead.
It looked like the Cardinal offense would be able to fight back. Stanford started the next two innings with base runners. A single by junior Emily Schultz followed by a walk gave the team an opportunity in the second inning, and a double by sophomore Sydney Steele provided a similar one in the third. But the Cardinal failed to convert in both frames and could not get a runner on base for the rest of the game.
Action was slow until the bottom of the fifth inning, when Stanford head coach Jessica Allister substituted Krause for Maddy Dwyer. A walk, sacrifice bunt and fielder’s choice forced the senior pitcher into the game. Dwyer was able to pitch herself out of the fifth, but she, and the rest of the defense, fell apart in the next frame.
Dwyer opened the bottom of the sixth by hitting a batter, whose pinch runner then advanced to second after junior shortstop Emily Young committed an error while failing to field a sacrifice bunt. A double by Santa Clara’s Sarah Ellersick scored Romero and was the only hit in the team’s three-run inning. Inouye recorded another fielder’s choice which resulted in another run. After a walk by Dwyer, which loaded the bases, Young registered a fielder’s choice of her own, getting the force out at home plate. Dwyer hit the next batter, scoring the inning’s third run. She finished the game with three strikeouts.
The team looks ahead to the weekend when it will play four games, two against Cal (1-1, 0-0 Pac-12) and two against California Baptist (4-5, 0-0 WAC) for the Stanford Invitational. First pitch against the Golden Bears is set for 6:00 p.m. PT on Friday.