STANFORD, Calif. – No. 20 Stanford extended the season’s hot start tonight, moving to 6-0 behind a pair of run rule wins. The Cardinal bats slugged out 22 hits in a 12-1 win over UC Davis and an 8-0 win over Riverside, while allowing just five hits across the two games.
After Kylie Chung worked her way out of jams in the first and second innings against the Aggies, the bats got going in the home half of the second.
Allie Clements led off with a double, and after Kyra Chan was hit by a pitch, Taryn Kern crushed her second home run of the season to make it a 3-0 lead. River Mahler and Ava Gall each singled to bring in two more, making it a 5-0 lead heading into the third.
The Aggies pushed a run across in the top of the third, making it a 5-1 game.
Stanford put up another crooked number in the bottom of the third, thanks to another leadoff double from Clements. Joie Economides brought Clements in to score, blasting a ball over the left-field fence to make it a 7-1 lead. Caelan Koch followed it up with a double, then an Emily Jones double scored Dani Hayes – running for Koch.
The hot bats continued into the bottom of the fourth, posting four runs on an RBI single from Chan, a bases-loaded hit by pitch from Kern and a two-run double from Jones.
Freshman Zoe Prystajko followed it up with a shutdown top of the fifth, locking up her second win of the season in run-rule fashion. The Huntington Beach, Calif. product finished with 2.1 scoreless innings of work, allowing just one hit and striking out two.
Prystajko wasn’t done for the day, earning the start against UC Riverside in the nightcap. The Cardinal bats jumped out to let her work with a lead, plating three in the second inning.
Chan raced home on an error to make it 1-0, then two batters later Kern settled into the batters box. For the second time on the day, Kern went yard to extend a Stanford lead.
Alyssa Houston took over in the circle in the top of the fourth, quickly retiring the side and striking out two for a shutdown inning.
Prystajko would exit the game after three scoreless frames, striking out three and allowing just two hits. The start pushed her scoreless inning streak to 7.2 over her last three appearances.
In the fifth, the Card added more runs behind back-to-back solo homers from River Mahler and Ava Gall to make it 5-0. Mahler’s home run was the first of her career.
Stanford wrapped the game up in the sixth inning – Gall drove in her second run of the game to make it 6-0, before Sydney Boulaphinh hit another walk off home run to finish it at 8-0.
Houston earned the win, her second of the season, behind a career-best six strikeouts. The sophomore has opened the season up with 10.2 innings of scoreless work.
Stanford continues the Cardinal Classic tomorrow with another pair of games. The Card hosts UC Riverside at 3:30 p.m. PT, followed by Portland State at 6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are available at Tickets.GoStanford.com, and the games can be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- Stanford moved to 6-0, the best start since the team went 13-0 to start the 2014 season.
- Juniors Taryn Kern and Kyra Chan have both opened the year with a hit in six straight games.
- Kern hit home runs in each of today’s games to bring her team-leading total to three.
- Freshman Zoe Prystajko picked up her second win of the season against UC Davis.
- Junior River Mahler’s home run against UC Riverside was the first of her career.
- Sophomore Alyssa Houston moved to 2-0 on the season, and posted a career-high six strikeouts against UC Riverside.
- The wins made for four-straight run-rule victories for Stanford.