Stanford Softball Wins Series Against Virginia

Can anyone stop Stanford softball right now? Over the weekend, the Cardinal (35-10, 13-8 ACC) hosted the Virginia Cavaliers and after winning the first game on Friday, they continued to roll en route to winning the series two games to one inside of Stanford Stadium.

Losing game two 9-4, the Cardinal were then forced to regroup for a rubber match on Sunday. Virginia got things going early on in the ballgame, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning after an RBI double scored the run, followed by an RBI single in the third inning to put them up 2-0 over Stanford.

But the Cardinal responded in a big way in the bottom half of the third inning, with Kyra Chan hitting a three-run home run to that scored both River Mahler and Taryn Kern, giving the Cardinal the 3-2 lead, their first of the game.

But the home run derby continued, only this time, it went in favor of the Cavaliers. In the fourth inning, with two runners on base and a 1-0 count, Cavaliers center fielder Kelly Ayer hit a three-run home run to give Virginia another lead. this time at 5-3.

They then proceeded to tack on two more runs in the sixth inning, with Jade Hylton hitting a solo home run to make it 6-3 Cavaliers followed by Sarah Coon hitting an RBI single to make it 7-3.

While Caelan Koch helped Stanford cut the lead down in the bottom of the sixth, hitting a solo home run to make it 7-4, the Cavaliers kept their momentum going in the final inning, scoring two more runs to take home the win.

Getting the start for Stanford was Kylie Chung, who allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks, also striking out one. She took the loss and dropped to 11-5 on the season. Alyssa Houston and Zoe Prystajko also made appearances in the game as well.

Sunday however, proved to be a much different story for the Cardinal. In what was more of a pitcher's duel, the Cardinal got the upper hand, taking home the 2-0 victory to win the series. While things remained steady for the first few innings of the game, the Cardinal finally struck in the fourth inning when Mahler hit a single to right center, scoring Kern from third to make it 1-0 Cardinal.

Later that same inning, with Emily Jones standing on third, Jade Berry hit a fly ball to center field that was deep enough for Jones to score to give Stanford a 2-0 lead. This proved to be all the Cardinal needed as they held Virginia scoreless the rest of the game.

On the mound for Stanford was Houston, who gave up only one hit while walking three and striking out five through 5.1 innings of work. She earned the win to improve to 13-1. Kylie Chung closed things out, going 1.2 innings while walking four, allowing one hit and striking out one.

With the series win, the Cardinal now extend their three-game series win streak to three, having gotten the upperhand in the last few series thay they have played.

With the final stretch of the regular season fast approaching, every win matters as the fight for a postseason spot intensifies. Next up for the Cardinal is a home game against Santa Clara on Wednesday before they hit the road to face Boston College this coming weekend.