TUCSON, Ariz. – A strong start by Stanford was not quite enough to withstand consistent offensive pressure by No. 19/16 Arizona as the Cardinal fell 10-2 in six innings.
Stanford (16-31, 1-16 Pac-12) kept pace with the Wildcats (36-12, 11-6 Pac-12) through the first five innings but was ultimately undone by five extra-base hits by Arizona that produced six runs.
Despite the defeat, there were plenty of quality contributions by multiple Cardinal players. Kylie Sorenson (4-9) got the start in the circle and did well to keep the Cardinal within striking distance early. She held the Wildcats to six runs on nine hits and two walks with a strikeout in 4.1 innings.
“Kylie did a good job of keeping Arizona off balance and working the corners of the plate,” said Stanford head coach Rachel Hanson. “It took them a while to figure her out and she did a great job.”
Erin Ashby hit her fifth home run of the season – a solo shot in the top of the second inning – and Bessie Noll contributed two hits.
Freshman Lauren Wegner registered the first Pac-12 hit of her collegiate career, doubling to the left-center gap in the sixth inning. Classmate Savannah Schulze made the first Pac-12 start of her career and made a terrific sliding catch in the bottom of the second inning.
“We played hard from start to finish,” said Hanson. “I’m proud of all the girls for stepping up and playing roles that needed to be played today and continuing to be team-first.”
Stanford had its opportunities offensively but left runners on base in five of the six innings, including leaving the bases loaded in the second and third innings.
Arizona manufactured a run in the bottom of the first inning to take an early lead. Katiyana Mauga singled to right field to bring in Chelsea Suitos from third.
Stanford wasted no time leveling the score at 1-1 when Ashby hit a solo home run to deep centerfield to lead off the top of the second inning. The Cardinal loaded the bases with two outs but was unable to add additional runs.
Schulze made a great defensive play with a sliding catch in right field to record the first out of the bottom of the second inning. Arizona rallied after the nice play by Schulze and Hallie Wilson delivered a two-RBI single to retake the lead. Chelsea Suitos reached on an error – scoring another run – in the following at-bat to put the Wildcats up 4-1.
After Kayla Bonstrom and Ashby walked, Noll contributed her second hit of the game to load the bases. Kaitlin Schaberg hit a ground ball to third base that the Arizona fielder was unable to handle, scoring a run and cutting the Wildcats lead to 4-2. With the bases loaded with one out, the Cardinal was unable to produce the hits needed to continue to close the gap.
Stanford kept Arizona off the board in the third and fourth innings behind quality defensive efforts and strong pitching. Ashby took a hard slide at second base for the second out of the third inning and Arden Pettit made a smooth play on a hard hit grounder to third to end the frame.
Sorenson continued to keep Stanford in the game with a solid fourth inning, retiring Arizona batters in order to keep the Wildcats off the board.
Stanford led off the fifth by getting runners to first and second but Kaitlin Schaberg hit a line shot down the right field line that the Arizona first baseman was able to snag in foul territory and step on first base while the Cardinal’s baserunner on first was taking a lead for a double play.
Arizona extended its lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning when Chelsea Goodacre hit a two-run home run to right-center field. Ashby entered the inning with one out and runners on second and third, and was able to pitch out of the jam to limit the damage.
Lauren Wegner recorded the first Pac-12 hit of her career in the top of the sixth inning with a double to left-center field with two outs. However, Stanford was unable to bring her around and cut into Arizona’s lead.
Arizona extended its lead to 9-2 when Kellie Fox hit a three-run home run to left field. Mo Mercado hit a RBI-double to right-center field for the Wildcats’ 10th run, securing the run-rule victory.
Stanford will look to take the series finale Sunday at Noon (PT).