SANTA CLARA, Calif. – No. 16 Stanford held its opponent to less than three runs tonight for the third-straight game, and fourth time in the last five, beating Santa Clara 3-1 on the road. The non-conference win puts the Cardinal at 31-12 on the season, and pushes the team’s season-best winning streak to nine games.
The Cardinal jumped out to an early lead, scoring in the first inning for the sixth time in the last eight games. Emily Jones laid down a bunt single, extending her hitting streak to nine games. The senior came around to score two batters later, when River Mahler doubled with two outs.
With the score, Jones has now crossed home plate at least once in eight of the last nine games.
Anna Brewer earned the start in the circle, and held the Broncos scoreless for the first two innings of the game. The freshman allowed three hits and walked one, but kept Santa Clara off the scoreboard.
After walking the leadoff batter in the third inning, Brewer gave way to Zoe Prystajko. Prystajko recorded three-straight outs to strand a runner and escape the inning unblemished.
Stanford added two more runs in the top of the third to expand the lead. Ava Gall led off with a double, coming in to score two batters later when Sydney Boulaphinh doubled herself. Boulaphinh advanced to third on a groundout from Taryn Kern, and scored on a double steal after Jones walked to reach first base.
Santa Clara broke up the shutout in the bottom of the sixth, tripling and then scoring on an RBI groundout.
Prystajko went back out for the bottom of the seventh. After a leadoff walk, the sophomore struck out three-straight Broncos to ice the 3-1 win.
Prystajko finished the night with just one run on one hit in five innings pitched. The Huntington Beach, Calif. product struck out eight, walking three to move to 16-5 on the season.
Stanford returns home for a weekend series against California, hosting the Golden Bears at Stanford Softball Stadium but playing as the visiting team. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra, and tickets are still available at Tickets.GoStanford.com.
POSTGAME NOTES:
- Stanford has now won nine-straight games, extending a season best.
- The Cardinal has held its competition to two runs or less in six of the nine wins.
- The Cardinal scored in the first inning for the sixth time in the last eight games.
- Senior Emily Jones extended her hitting streak to nine games with a single in the first inning.
- Jones stole two bases on the day, her 14th and 15th of the season to give her 43 in her career.
- The career total is tied for the seventh-most in program history.
- Jones has now scored a run in eight of the last nine games.
- Sophomore Zoe Prystajko picked up the win in the circle, moving to 16-5 on the season with 5.0 innings of relief.