The brand new Stanford Softball Stadium staged its inaugural game last Thursday night, highlighted by a season-opening 4-2 Cardinal (5-0, 0-0 ACC) win over Oklahoma State (3-2, 0-0 Big 12).
“We’ve been waiting for this moment,” said senior second baseman Taryn Kern.
The night began with a ribbon cutting on the mound and was followed by a first inning with no runs or hits for Oklahoma State with sophomore pitcher Zoe Prystajko in the circle. The performance set the tone for the rest of the Stanford Invitational, the five-game series that started last Thursday and ended on Sunday, with games against Oklahoma State, Cal and San Jose State University.
“Over the fall, I’ve worked at a lot of things with coach [Allister],” Prystaljko said. “And it’s fun to see it finally against batters who we don’t see every single day.”
Head coach Jessica Allister applauded Prystaljko’s performance.
“I was so impressed and unsurprised,” said Allister about Prystajko. “She gave us a fantastic start.”
Stanford kept the momentum going with a first-inning RBI from senior shortstop River Mahler.
After three-and-a-half uneventful innings, junior catcher Ava Gall hit a two-run RBI to bring in Mahler and Kern.
The Cowgirls gained a mark on the box score in the top of the sixth after freshman outfielder Jayelle Austin hit a two-run-homer to right field. Junior pitcher Alyssa Houston came in to relieve Prystajko, who recorded nine strikeouts in 5.2 innings in the season debut.
To round out the box score, Kern hit an RBI to center field in the bottom of the sixth, earning the Cardinal their first victory of the season, 4-2.
Oklahoma State’s senior pitcher River Meylan was named to the NFCA All-American second team for the 2025 season, proving a tough hurler for the Cardinal.
“Coming up and getting a win against an All-American game one is awesome,” said Allister.
The win is particularly impressive considering that the Cardinal only began practicing in their brand new stadium just two weeks before opening night.
“All this stuff just got put up. The pads, the fences, just everything, the foul poles,” Kern said. “Everything was actively getting put up as we were practicing, so it’s great to see it come together and be a part of that.”
The stadium, however, has quickly shown to be a perfect environment for softball and fans of the sport.
“It’s such a great fan experience,” said Allister. “From the sidelines and the seats and the concessions and the bathrooms and the atmosphere, the decks up top. It’s a great place to watch softball.”
The fans seemingly agreed, filling 1,358 seats for opening night.
“I really do believe that if you come out and you watch us play and watch high-level softball, you fall in love with it pretty quickly,” Allister said.
The energy is not just up for the fans, however. The Cardinal secured an opening night win in their inaugural season at Stanford Softball Stadium against a No. 24-ranked Oklahoma State, giving the team momentum early in the season.
“It felt celebratory and felt special,” Allister said. “We had a great crowd. We played well. It was fantastic.”
Stanford went on to win every following game in the Stanford Invitational, including two run-rule wins against Oklahoma State and San Jose State and a rivalry win against Cal. The weekend also featured seven home runs and a pitching staff that posted a cumulative 2.48 ERA and 1.10 WHIP.
Up next, Stanford softball hosts Kentucky on Thursday at 6 p.m. to kick off the Cardinal Classic I, a six-game series into the weekend against Kentucky, Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly and Oregon.