Stanford Softball Falls in Series Against Clemson

The ACC is a very competitive conference in softball, and Stanford has been finding that out more and more. Over the weekend, the Cardinal hosted the Clemson Tigers for a three-game series, but fell two games to one in what was a very strong showing from the Tigers.

Game one on Friday proved to be a close one, but ultimately, the Cardinal fell 7-5. Clemson got out ahead early, with a two-run home run in the first inning by Maddie Moore giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead. The Tigers then extended their lead to 3-0 in the third inning after a bases loaded hit by pitch drove in a run.

But Stanford cut into the lead over the next two innings, getting on the board in the bottom of the third inning when Kyra Chan hit a single with bases loaded to score Emily Jones from third, making it 3-1. In the fourth, Jones came in clutch with an RBI single to make it 3-2 and put the game well within reach.

However, after Clemson loaded the bases in the fifth, Aby Viera drew a walk and brought in the runner from third, making it 4-2 while in the sixth inning, Julia Knowler belted a big three-run shot to make it 7-2 Clemson, opening the game up for the Tigers and forcing Stanford to work even harder to mount a comeback.

While Stanford managed to tack on three more in the bottom of the sixth, with Kylie Chung hitting a solo homer and River Mahler bringing in two runs on a double, it was not enough to complete the comeback.

On the mound, Zoe Prystajko started the game and allowed four runs on two hits through five innings of work, striking out six while walking four en route to taking the loss. Chung pitched the last two innings, allowing three hits and three runs while walking three and striking out two.

On Saturday, the Cardinal came back out with conviction, taking home a big 11-1 win with the mercy rule going into effect. While Clemson scored first in the very first inning via an RBI single, the game quickly was taken over by the Cardinal, who tacked on four in the bottom half of the inning, highlighted by a three-run homer from Kyra Chan to make it 4-1 Cardinal.

In the second inning, a two-run homer from Taryn Kern and a solo homer from Jones helped the Cardinal take a 7-1 lead. Then in the fourth, Mahler hit a single, but after a throwing error, she reached second which allowed both Kern and Chung to score, making it 9-1 Cardinal.

Later in the inning, Jade Berry hit a sac fly to right field, driving in Jones and making it 10-1 Cardinal. Capping things off, Chan drove in a run after she grounded out to the pitcher.

Alyssa Houston got the start for the Cardinal, allowing only one hit and a run through five innings of work, striking out nine while walking five en route to earning the win to improve to 8-1. It was Houston's big game that helped the Cardinal win big and force the game to end after only five innings.

The final game of the series, while once again close, went in favor of Clemson-- who took home the 7-6 victory. Stanford started the scoring by getting out ahead first on a third-inning homer from Kern to take a 2-0 lead, but it was Clemson that took over in the latter half of the game, scoring four runs in the fifth inning to take a 4-2 lead.

Then in the bottom of the fifth, a home run from Kern and an RBI groundout from Mahler caused the Cardinal to score two more runs, tying things up at 4-4. However in the sixth, Clemson scored three to eventually lead 7-4 by the end of the inning.

In the sixth inning, Jones drove in a run via a sac-fly to right field while Caelan Koch drove in Chan with an RBI single in the seventh but they were unable to finish the job, coming up one run short of the win.

On the mound for Stanford was Houston, who gave up four runs (one earned) on three hits through 4.1 innings of work, striking out seven while walking four. However, it was Chung who took the loss, allowing two runs on two hits through 0.2 innings of work.

With the series loss, the Cardinal will look to regroup and rebound ahead of a pivotal road series against Boise State next weekend.

Traveling to Boise for the three game series, the first game will be on Friday and have a first pitch set for 5 p.m. (PT). Game two will begin at 1 p.m. (PT) while Sunday's game will begin at 11 a.m. (PT). All games will air on the Mountain West Network.