Stanford Softball Earns Mercy Rule Win Over Santa Clara

Chalk up another win, because Stanford softball is rolling. Coming off of another strong weekend in which they won a big series over Virginia, the Cardinal (36-10, 13-8 ACC) took the field again on Wednesday to face Santa Clara in the final game in Stanford Stadium, where they beat the Broncos 10-2 in six innings.

Behind a big four RBI game from Kyra Chan, the Cardinal were too much for Santa Clara, putting together a big fifth inning that ultimately proved to be the catalyst for the win. Santa Clara took the early lead, going up 2-0 in the third inning.

But after a couple of innings of good pitching and defense from Stanford, they were able to score their first run in the fifth to make it 2-1 after River Mahler reached base on a fielder's choice and with Mylia Perez standing on third, she was able to come in and score.

After that, Chan delivered her first two RBI of the game after she hit a single that scored both Mahler and Taryn Kern, giving Stanford the 3-2 lead-- its first lead of the night. From then on, momentum shifted and the Cardinal were able to tack on two more runs in the fifth inning, as Joie Economides hit a two RBI single the very next at-bat, driving in Chan and Jade Berry to give the Cardinal a 5-2 lead.

The sixth inning is where Stanford really took over, with Mahler contributing another RBI when she hit a single to left field, scoring catcher Allie Clements to extend the lead to 6-2.

The next batter was Berry, who came up big once again as she hit a two RBI single, bringing in both Emily Jones and Kern to make it 8-2 Stanford. Chan then proceeded to cap things off with a two RBI double that scored Berry and Mahler to extend Stanford's lead to 10-2.

Santa Clara, on the other hand, was unable to muster anything else, resulting in the game ending after six innings. Getting the start on the mound for Stanford was Kylie Chung, who pitched 4.1 innings and allowed two runs on four hits while walking four and striking out one.

However, it was Alyssa Houston who earned the win, as she pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and a walk while striking out three. She improves to 14-1 on the season.

With the win, the Cardinal will now shift focus onto their final regular season series this weekend as they will travel to the East Coast to take on Boston College in a three game, Friday-Sunday series. Friday's game will begin at 1 p.m. (PT) while Saturday and Sunday's will begin at 11 a.m. (PT). All games will air on the ACC Network.