STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford kept pace with No. 24/23 Arizona State for a majority of the game Saturday but was undone by a couple big innings, falling to the Sun Devils 16-6 in six innings.
Despite the defeat, it was a special night for the Cardinal as it honored its three seniors – Erin Ashby, Alyssa Lombardo and Tylyn Wells – as part of Senior Night for their contributions to the program throughout the duration of their collegiate careers.
“I’m proud of our seniors for finishing strong and being team-first and playing the role of whatever the team needs,” said Stanford head coach Rachel Hanson.
Stanford (16-34, 1-19 Pac-12) held leads in the third and fourth innings but Arizona State (32-18, 10-9 Pac-12) produced 11 runs in the fifth and six innings to earn the run-rule victory.
Kayla Bonstrom, Kylie Sorenson and Wells paced the Cardinal with two hits apiece, while Bessie Noll and Jessica Plaza each produced a hit.
Bonstrom’s first hit of the game was a two-out two-RBI double that moved her into eighth all-time in RBIs in Stanford history with 168. She added another RBI with her second hit to increase her career total to 169.
Noll continues to swing a hot bat and has at least one hit in nine of the past 11 games, and a RBI in two of the past three contests. Plaza is also heating up at the plate and has three hits in the past three games, including two home runs.
Sorenson (4-10), typically Stanford’s starting shortstop but pitching due to injuries to starting pitchers, got the start in the circle and did well to keep her team within striking distance early. She did not allow a run through the first three innings and went 3.2 innings, permitting five runs – two earned – on six hits and four walks.
Erin Ashby (0-4), typically Stanford’s starting second baseman, entered the game in relief in the fourth inning and did well to eat up innings to conclude the game.
“Kylie did really well keeping the ball low and had her off-speed working to keep them off-balance,” said Hanson. “Erin showed again why she’s a great senior and leader, stepping up to take care of business.”
Stanford jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning when Bonstrom launched a double to the left-center field gap to bring in Sorenson and Wells.
The Sun Devils responded with five runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 5-2 lead.
The Cardinal answered immediately with four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Plaza led off the inning with a big home run to left field – her fourth on the season. Noll, Sorenson and Bonstrom helped produce three more runs with consecutive RBI-singles to retake a 6-5 lead.
Stanford ran into trouble in the top of the fifth when Arizona State capitalized on two Cardinal errors to generate seven runs on seven hits and take a commanding 12-6 lead. The Sun Devils added 11 runs over the next two innings to extend its lead to 16-6.
Stanford hit the ball well in the bottom halves of the fifth and sixth innings but could not generate the runs needed to avoid the run-rule decision.
The Cardinal looks to take the series finale Sunday at 2 p.m. (PT).