TEMPE, Ariz. – No. 22/20 Stanford concluded an impressive opening weekend Sunday at the Kajikawa Classic with a 10-1 victory over Seattle in six innings.
The Cardinal (6-0) outscored opponents 60-6 and out-hit the opposition 69-17 in six games over four days.
Hitting for power, timely hitting and great pitching were common themes throughout the weekend. The Cardinal batted .413 as a team with 25 hits going for extra bases, including eight home runs, while holding opponents to a .147 average.
Stanford continued to roll Sunday against Seattle with eight players combining for 14 hits. Carley Hoover (2-0) got the start and went 1.2 innings before Madi Schreyer (4-0) came in and finished the game to pick up the win.
Schreyer held Seattle scoreless, notched two strikeouts and allowed two hits and three walks in 3.1 innings of work. She finished the weekend with 16 strikeouts and a 0.69 ERA in 13 innings pitched.
Cassandra Roulund had a great day at the plate, going 4-4 with two doubles and two singles. Jessica Plaza continued to provide power for the Cardinal, hammering a three-run home run in the sixth inning – her third homer on the weekend.
After giving up a run in the bottom of the first inning, the Cardinal responded with a four-spot in the top of the second. Bessie Noll got the scoring started with a leadoff home run – the first of her career – to knot the score at one apiece. Noll had a great collegiate debut this weekend, finishing 11-17 (.647 average) with two doubles, a home run and four RBI.
Roulund followed with a single, her first of four hits on the day. Following back-to-back outs, Tylyn Wells ignited a two-out rally with a triple down the right-field line to score Roulund.
Three consecutive singles by Hanna Winter, Leah White and Kayla Bonstrom added two additional runs to stretch the Cardinal’s lead to 4-1.
Noll led off the third inning with a single, followed by a double by Roulund. Plaza brought Noll home with a sacrifice fly to center. After an error by Seattle put Wells on first, the Cardinal took advantage and plated two additional runs to lead 7-1.
After a quiet fourth, Stanford loaded the bases in the fifth inning but was unable to capitalize. Plaza’s home run in the sixth gave the Cardinal a nine-run lead. Nyree White pitched the bottom of the sixth inning and kept Seattle off the board to secure the victory.
The Cardinal plays host to Cal Poly, Bradley and Pacific next weekend in the Stanford Nike Invitational.
