Recap: No. 22 Stanford Softball takes the series on Saturday against NC State
On Saturday, No. 22 Stanford softball defeated NC State at home by a final score of 6-2, winning the series after getting an 11-4 win on Friday. Zoe Prystajko (14-5) was the winning pitcher for the Cardinal in a relief role while Morgen Talley (12-7) was the losing pitcher for the Wolfpack. Stanford improves to 29-12 overall and 14-6 in the ACC while NC State falls to 25-19 overall and 6-10 in the ACC.
BOX SCORE: NC State at Stanford-Saturday, April 18th
“Yeah, I thought it was a really good day,” Stanford head coach Jessica Allister said after the game. “I thought we did a really good job of one, I thought Brewer, again, gave us a great start. So the pitchers continue to do a really good job, setting a good tone defensively and then coming out. Again, we won’t complain about lead off home runs. So Taryn, putting a ball over, and then stringing together some good hits behind her. I thought Jones had a really good offensive day, which was fantastic. And then off of a really good pitcher and that freshman, she’s good. I thought we did a good job of consistent offensive pressure. Got some big hits. And Brewer and Zoe combined to throw a gem, so good defense, runs, and pitching. Felt good about it.”
Stanford never trailed in this game. They scored two runs in the bottom of the 1st inning to go up 2-0 as Taryn Kern hit a lead-off solo home run to deep right field after which Emily Jones singled up the middle. Jones would steal second base. With one out, River Mahler singled to left field to bring home Jones. Stanford wasn’t able to add any more runs the rest of the inning.
“Yeah, I just think, I don’t know, just way to strike,” Kern said of her home run prowess. “That’s always the approach. Get a good pitch and swing at it…If you every think I’m going to hit a home run, it never happens. Let me tell you that. So definitely not that. I think just like continuing to work on mechanics, getting stronger, and yeah, just putting a good swing on a good pitch. It’s never about the result, but about the process and that’s what gives you the result.”
“Yeah, I think, grow is an interesting word, I think she’s just, you know, she oftentimes gets really hot late in the season,” Allister said of Kern. “That’s kinda been her M.O. throughout her career and I think probably just like, the more pitches she sees, the more at-bats that she has, she just gets more and more comfortable, but I mean, I probably shouldn’t even say that because she started the season so hot as well, too. But I think she’s just putting together good at-bats and you know, when she squares it up there’s a good chance of going out.”
In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Stanford would go up 3-0. Jones would single after which Kyra Chan was walked. Mahler then hit a sacrifice bunt to the infield to advance Jones to third base and Chan to second base. Jade Berry then grounded out to second base to bring home Jones and advance Chan to third base. Joie Economides grounded out to third base to end the bottom of the inning.
Stanford would go up 6-0 in the bottom of the 4th inning. Ava Gall hit a solo shot to right field to lead things off, making it 4-0. Chan would later hit a two-RBI single to bring home Addyson Sheppard and Emily Jones. That made it 6-0.
“Let’s see, yes, so I was up to bat, I was 2 and 1, I think. I forgot. Anyway, I was just trying to score the run,” Chan said of her RBI. “Just see the ball, hit it, and I just hit it and beat it out. That’s about it.”
In the top of the 7th inning, NC State would avoid the shutout as Teagan Thrunk hit a two-run home run off Prystajko, who pitched the final 4.1 innings after Anna Brewer pitched the first 2.2. That home run was too little too late as it came with only one out to spare. Maia Townsend then lined out to short stop to end the game. 6-2 Stanford won the game.
“Yeah, I just think our, you know, every aspect of our game right now are firing on all cylinders,” Chan said. “I think, you know, right now we’re hitting our stride in our season and this is the best time to hit it. And so I think like, whether it’s pitching, defense, offense, I think we’re all doing well. And you know, I’m really excited for what this team is going to do in the future.”
Stanford has now won seven straight games. They’re finding a nice groove both in the pitching circle and in the batter’s box. They should be feeling confident about the way they are playing. They seem to feel they are hitting their stride at the right time, making them a dangerous team.
“Yeah, I think our focus has always been we want to be hitting our stride at the end of the year,” Kern said. “So to continue to do that on defense and offense and pitching is awesome.”
“I think our team is really good at, you know, competing throughout the entire game,” Chan said. “You know, we come out swinging at first and then, we just continue that consistent offensive pressure and I think that’s what’s helped us. You know, continue to score runs.”
At the same time, they’re not playing perfect. Giving up some late home runs is a friendly reminder that they can still play better. If they can clean up some of those blemishes, they’ll be even more tough to stop than they already are.
“There’s always reasons to improve,” Allister said. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Yeah, I think adversity is alright. We got big goals for the season and for us to be able to do that, like, we’re gonna have to be able to like, manage ourselves in tough situations. So, it’s easy when it’s easy and it’s a little bit harder when it’s hard. So, I think Zoe having a little bit of that, you know, that struggle a little bit in the 7th inning, that’s gonna serve her and I thought she did a good job of coming right back and getting the next hitter.”
Overall, this is a great result for Stanford. They take the series decisively and now will look to get the sweep on Sunday. Not a lot for them to complain about this one. It’ll be interesting to see if they are indeed able to complete the sweep. Opening pitch on Sunday is set for 12:00 PM PT on ACCNX.
“Well, score resets to zero,” Allister said. “And we’re gonna need to be ready to go right away. And then again, we need to execute our pitches. We got to manage our at-bats, take care of the ball on defense.”
“I mean, I think as players we try and think of every game as the same,” Kern said with a sweep on the line. “Like, it’s every game is the most important game of the year. So, yeah, of course, like we won the series, but we want to get the sweep just as bad as we’d want to win the series if we’d lost today.”
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