Stanford Softball Picks Up Walk-Off Win Over Virginia

Jun 2, 2024; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Stanford Cardinals infielder River Mahler (1) throws to first for an out in the third inning against the UCLA Bruins during a Women's College World Series softball losers bracket elimination game at Devon Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-Imagn Images | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

The Cardinal keep getting it done. Coming off of a midweek win over Sacramento State, the Cardinal earned a massive momentum boost heading into a big weekend series against Viriginia. In the first game of the three-game series on Friday, the Cardinal (34-9, 12-7 ACC) did exactly what they needed to do and beat the Cavaliers 4-3 on a walk-off.

The Cavaliers got on the board first in the very first inning, on a two-run homer. After a couple innings of things holding steady, Stanford responded with two runs of its own, with Jade Berry hitting a single and with two runners on, Taryn Kern was able to score and make it 2-1. Later on in the inning, Joie Economides hit a sac-fly that drove in River Mahler and tied things up at 2-2.

In the fifth, Virginia took a 3-2 lead on a single to the left side brought in the runner to give the Cavaliers a new lead. However, it was in the seventh inning where the Cardinal really took over.

With pinch runner Dani Hayes standing on second, Emily Jones came up to bat and delivered on a big RBI double, scoring Hayes and tying things up at 3-3. This set up the game-winning play from Berry. With Jones on second, Berry hit a hard grounder, but thanks to an error, Jones was able to round third and come in to score, giving Stanford the 4-3 win and allowing them to take the first game of the series.

Kylie Chung started the game for Stanford, allowing two runs on three hits while walking four and striking out five. Alyssa Houston got the win to improve to 12-1, allowing one run on two hits while walking one and striking out five.

With the win, the Cardinal only need to win one more game this weekend to officially take the series-- which would be huge with the season nearing the final stretch. Both teams will face off again in game two on Saturday, with first pitch set for 2 p.m. (PT).