The ongoing historic season carries on as Stanford Cardinal (40-10, 16-8 ACC), making their debut in the ACC tournament, encountered a challenging opponent in the 12-seeded Pittsburgh. However, they managed to secure victory by defeating the Panthers with a score of 9-2, thereby progressing to the quarterfinals.
As the fifth-seeded team, the Cardinal barely failed to secure a first-round bye, but they made the most of their opportunity in the opening round to build some momentum.
Pittsburgh secured an initial 1-0 advantage in the top of the first inning thanks to an RBI single, however, the Cardinals quickly retaliated. In the bottom of the first inning, Jade Berry hit an RBI single, leveling the score at 1-1.
At the beginning of the second inning, the Panthers seized a 2-1 advantage due to an error made by Stanford’s first baseman, Joie Economides. After that point, though, Stanford dominated the match and maintained control throughout.
Following Allie Clements’ two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning, which granted the Cardinal a fresh 3-1 advantage, the momentum changed entirely. The team from Cardinal then proceeded to score an additional six consecutive runs without reply.
During the third inning, Kyra Chan smacked a single into right field, allowing River Mahler to score and bringing the score to 4-2 in favor of Cardinal. Further along in the same inning, Caelan Koch drove in her initial two runs batted in (RBIs), which enabled both Chan and Berry to cross home plate, thus increasing Cardinal’s advantage to 6-2.
Next up was Kylie Chung, who smashed a two-RBI single, bringing home Dani Hayes and Economides. This extended Stanford’s advantage to 8-2, effectively sealing the game early on. Solid performances from both pitchers and defenders kept the score stable for several innings, but in the fifth frame, Koch managed to get on base due to a fielding error, enabling Berry to cross home plate. As a result, Stanford secured a commanding 9-2 lead.
Chung started for the Cardinals and secured the victory, giving up two runs (only one earned) off six hits, four walks, and recording three strikeouts over four innings. Zoe Prystajko and Alyssa Houston also took part in the game; Prystajko pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, while Houston threw for just 0.1 innings.
Following their victory, the Cardinals will have limited time to recover as they prepare to compete against the No. 4 seeded Duke team tomorrow. The game is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. PT and can be watched live on the ACC Network.
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Stanford Softball Advances to ACC Quarterfinals After Defeating Pittsburgh
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