Stanford Softball Comes Away with Cictory Over Cal

All wins matter, but some wins mean more than others. On Thursday, the Stanford Cardinal (31-8, 10-6 ACC) took on Cal in the first game of a three-game series, and were able to come away with the big win, beating the Golden Bears 7-4.

After Cal scored first in the top of the first inning, the Cardinal quickly responded by taking a 2-1 lead in the second inning, with Emily Jones getting it started with a solo home run followed by Kyra Chan hitting an RBI double--scoring Jade Berry from second base.

In the second inning, Cal was able to load the bases and eventually retake a 3-2 lead thanks to an RBI double but once again, the Cardinal showed that they were ready to go pound for pound, with Taryn Kern tying things up in the bottom of the second when she hit an RBI single to score Kylie Chung from third.

In the third inning, Cal once again took a lead-- but it was their last run scored for the game before Stanford took over. With the bases loaded, Cal third baseman Nailyn Marshall drew a walk, bringing in a run from third as the Golden Bears were able to take a 4-3 lead. But after Berry hit a solo home run in the bottom of the third to tie it up again for Stanford, momentum quickly shifted.

The slugfest continued for the Cardinal in the fourth inning as Jones hit her second home run of the game, this time a solo shot to center field to give the Cardinal a 5-4 lead. After a couple innings of everything holding steady, the Cardinal struck again in the sixth.

With Sydney Boulaphinh getting a pinch-hitting opportunity, she ended up delivering in the best way possible as with a 3-1 count, she hit a deep homer to left field to give Stanford a 6-4 advantage.

Later that same inning, River Mahler capped things off with an RBI single, bringing in Mylia Perez from third and allowing Stanford to take a 7-4 lead. On the mound, Kylie Chung started the game and went 3.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits while she walked six and struck out four.

Zoe Prystajko got the win to improve to 10-3 while Alyssa Houston picked up her fourth save of the season, pitching three innings and allowing two unearned runs while striking out three batters.

With the win, the Cardinal earn a massive momentum boost for the rest of the series as they look ahead to Friday. Friday's game will begin at 6 p.m (PT) and will be followed by the Big Swing sellout event on Saturday. First pitch for that one will be at 1 p.m. (PT).