(Photo Courtesy of Stanford Athletics)
STANFORD, Calif. – No. 17/14 Stanford showcased its ability to generate runs in a variety of ways Sunday, stealing five bases and recording 14 hits to defeat Pacific, 11-9.
Erin Ashby paced the Cardinal (11-0) offensively in the final game of the Stanford Nike Invitational, going 3-for-4 with three RBI and scored four runs. The junior was a triple shy of a cycle and was one of four Cardinal to combine for five stolen bases.
Ashby finished the weekend 5-for-15 with six RBI, two doubles, a home run and a team-high 10 total bases.
Hanna Winter, Leah White, Bessie Noll and Tylyn Wells also recorded multi-hit games to help fuel a healthy Cardinal offense that has outhit opponents 111-43 this season. White matched Ashby with a team-high three RBI and a stolen base.
Wells stole two bases and Winter snagged her sixth bag of the season. Four of the five bases stolen by the Cardinal turned into runs scored.
Madi Schreyer (8-0) made her third consecutive start and went all 7.0 innings, striking out six and allowing four earned runs on nine hits and four walks.
Coming off a dominating performance last weekend at the Kajikawa Classic, the Cardinal continued its momentum during its first home weekend, outscoring opponents 34-16 to stretch its season-advantage to 94-22.
Schreyer had a terrific weekend in the circle, picking up four wins and holding a 1.59 ERA. She accumulated 20 strikeouts, allowed one extra-base hit and held opponents to a .164 batting average in 28.1 innings of work.
Freshmen Kylie Sorenson and Noll continued to shine at the plate, hitting .455 and .417 on the weekend, respectively. Sorenson went 5-for-11 with six RBI and notched a team-high five walks. Noll hit 5-for-12 with three RBI and scored three runs.
After allowing a Pacific (2-4) run in the top of the first, Stanford responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning and two runs in the second.
Stanford posted three more runs in the fourth inning to take a commanding 6-1 lead. However, Pacific batted through its lineup in the top of the fifth and added four runs to close the gap to one score.
The Cardinal plated two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to extend its lead to 11-5.
The Tigers made it interesting in the seventh, again batting through its lineup to score four runs. With two outs and runners on first and third, Schreyer got Pacific’s Megan Foglesong to ground out to Sorenson at shortstop to end the game.
Stanford will play a midweek game at UC Davis on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. before heading to the Mary Nutter Classic in Cathedral City, Calif., next weekend. The Cardinal will take on a challenging slate at the tournament, including Maryland, No. 16 Baylor, No. 21 LSU, Syracuse, and No. 1 Tennessee.
