Stanford (13-23, 0-12 Pac-12)
No. RV/RV Utah (27-13, 8-4 Pac-12)
Fri. • 3, 5 p.m. (PT) | Sat. • 4 p.m.
Live Stream | Live Statistics • Via GoStanford.com
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STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford returns to the road to continue Pac-12 play this weekend with a three-game series at Utah.
The Cardinal (13-23, 0-12 Pac-12) has been battling against conference opponents but is still searching for its first conference win of the year.
The weekend schedule has been changed due to expected inclement weather. The teams will play a doubleheader Friday beginning at 3 p.m. (PT) and conclude the series Saturday at 4 p.m.
Stanford played host to No. 17/16 Arizona this past weekend and played well in all three games but could not generate the final push needed to defeat the Wildcats.
Kylie Sorenson paced the Cardinal offensively, going 2-for-6 (.333) with a home run and two walks over two games but left the third game early with an injury. Bessie Noll returned to the batting lineup for the first time since she suffered an injury on March 5 and went 2-for-6 with a walk.
Carolyn Lee and Haley Snyder pitched well in the series and kept Stanford close in the first two games. Arizona broke through in the finale with its best offensive game of the series.
Highlights from Stanford's finale against Arizona.
THE UTAH SERIES
• Stanford is 13-6 all-time against Utah but has gone 1-2 in each of the past two years. The Cardinal’s most recent series win came at home in 2013 when it swept the Utes.
LEE CONTINUES TO IMPRESS IN DEBUT SEASON
• Freshman Carolyn Lee has provided quality starts for the Cardinal throughout the season and consistently positions Stanford within striking distance for victories. In last week’s series opener against Arizona, Lee held the Wildcats to five runs on 11 hits and five walks with a strikeout. She dazzled in the series finale at UCLA (April 11), holding the Bruins to two runs on seven hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
• Lee made her Pac-12 debut at No. 4/7 Oregon and pitched well, holding the Ducks to five earned runs in 10.0 innings with six strikeouts.
PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
• Kayla Bonstrom (international relations), a 2015 NFCA All-America Second Team selection, picked up where she left off last season and is second among Cardinal players with a .294 batting average with 19 RBIs, 10 doubles, two home runs, two triples, 21 runs, 12 walks and a .477 slugging percentage.
• Bonstrom missed Stanford’s midweek game against Pacific (April 6) because she was presenting her senior thesis at the United States Military Academy Combating Terrorism Center at West Point conference on terrorism, insurgency and asymmetric conflicts.
• Bonstrom has exceled in the classroom and was a 2015 Capital One Academic Second Team All-American and All-District Softball Team District 8 selection. She was selected to the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) Interschool Honors Program in International Security Studies during her junior year to develop a senior thesis with the federal government related to national security. She’s interested in working in national security upon graduation.
• Bonstrom was named to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top-50 Watch List earlier this season. She was also selected as a Senior CLASS Award Top-30 finalist.
.@StanfordSball's Kayla Bonstrom missed a game to present her antiterrorism thesis at West Point. #StanfordThingshttps://t.co/1O8estMnuj
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) April 19, 2016
SORENSON CONTINUES STRONG PLAY
• Kylie Sorenson had a quality start to the season and has continued playing well in conference play. She leads Stanford with a .339 batting average with 25 RBIs, eight home runs, five doubles, 26 runs, 20 walks and a .598 slugging percentage. Sorenson leads Stanford with a .324 batting average in conference play. She has also contributed multiple highlight-worthy plays at shortstop.
Kylie Sorenson homered in the series-opener against Arizona.
NOLL RETURNS
• Junior centerfielder Bessie Noll had a hot start to the season come to a halt when she was hit by a pitch March 5 and sidelined by the injury. She returned to the field in center field April 6 against Pacific and returned to the batting lineup April 16 against Arizona.
• Noll led Stanford in batting average (.404), home runs (6), doubles (7), runs (18), walks (13), slugging percentage (.885) and on-base percentage (.536) through the first 18 games prior to her injury.
• Noll was streaking during tournament play and hit .400 (4-for-10) with two home runs, four RBIs, five runs, a double and a 1.100 slugging percentage through the first three games of the Malihini Aloha Tournament.
• Noll grew up playing baseball in Tokyo, Japan, and only played softball during the summers of her high school years.