Recap: No. 24 Stanford Softball walks it off against No. 5 Florida State
On Friday night, No. 24 Stanford softball upset No. 5 Florida State by a final score of 9-8 as Addyson Sheppard hit the game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the 7th inning. Taryn Kern also hit a three-run home run for the Cardinal in the bottom of the 6th inning. Ava Bulanti (2-0) was the winning pitcher for the Cardinal in a relief role while Jazzy Francik (15-2) was the losing pitcher for the Seminoles in a relief role. Stanford improves to 24-12 overall and 10-6 in the ACC while Florida State falls to 36-5 overall and 12-1 in the ACC.
BOX SCORE: Florida State at Stanford-Friday, April 10th
“I heard you say to Sheppard it was a roller coaster of a day and I think it was absolutely, you nailed it, it was a roller coaster of a day and it was nice to end it on the high note,” Stanford head coach Jessica Allister said after the game. “I thought there was a lot of really good stuff. I was impressed with the way we came out initially. Zoe having a one, two, three inning, setting a great tone there and then coming out and having really good at-bats, stringing together in the first inning, putting in, pressure on them right away. I thought we played really good ball for six innings and then I thought in the seventh inning it got away from us a little bit, you know, we started to play a little fast, gave them a couple runs that I think maybe we could have kept from them at the end there to make it a three run deficit going into the seventh, but then came up and strung together again great at-bats. And Shep got off a really good swing on the first strike that she saw. So, I’ll take it.”
Zoe Prystajko was the starting pitcher for the Cardinal and she got off to a nice start by getting three straight batters out. In the bottom of the 1st inning, Stanford would score two runs to go up 2-0 as River Mahler hit a sacrifice fly to right field to bring home Emily Jones who was on third base before Jade Berry hit a triple to deep center field to bring home Kyra Chan, who was on first base.
Florida State would add a run in the top of the 2nd inning to make it 2-1 as Ashtyn Danley hit a solo home run to deep right field in the opening at-bat. The Seminoles wouldn’t add any more runs the rest of the inning. In the bottom of the 2nd, Stanford failed to add any runs, keeping it a 2-1 game.
Things would remain calm for the next three innings as neither team scored. It would be a 2-1 lead for Stanford at the end of the 5th inning. However, the final two innings were anything but calm.
In the top of the 6th inning, the Seminoles would even up the game 2-2. With two outs, Anna Hinde doubled to left center after which Madi Frey came in to pinch run. Kennedy Harp then singled to left field to bring home Frey. Shelby McKenzie then struck out swinging to end the top of the inning with Alyssa Houston now in the circle having come in for Prystajko to get the final out.
In the bottom of the 6th inning, Stanford added three runs as Taryn Kern hit a three-run blast to deep right field to bring home Addyson Sheppard and Sophia Jin. Jin was punch running for Izzy Cacatian, who doubled to left center to advance Sheppard to third base. It was now a 5-2 lead for the Cardinal. Emily Jones almost executed a perfect bunt to keep the inning alive, but she ran into the ball, making her out to end the inning via batter’s interference.
“What did I see?” Kern thought when asked of her home run. “You know, I got up first three times and she was covering me up, so I was just ready to get in there again, make my adjustment, and get it done for the team.”
In the top of the 7th inning, Florida State delivered to Stanford the inning from hell as they would score six runs while Stanford had four different pitchers. Prystajko came back in for Houston; Anna Brewer came in for Prystajko; and then Ava Bulanti was the one who finished the inning, getting the final out after giving up an RBI single.
“There were some really good, right?” Allister said of the pitching. “So, I think Zoe threw a great start and did a really good job there. And then Alyssa coming in and I think it as the 6th and shutting the door to get us back into the dugout with a tie ball game was fantastic. And then you know, I think in the 7th, you know, there were some big pitches within that string, but I think we need to be a little bit more confident in our stuff when we get into the 7th inning because our stuff is good enough to beat anybody. And I think we might be a little gun shy as a staff, about kind of some of the late innings. And that’s a pressure that you kind of create yourself and put on yourself. And instead, we’ve had a lot of successes to draw from. We got to start drawing from the successes and understanding that, you know, we can compete with anybody out in the circle and the ending doesn’t change things. So, we just got to execute our pitches and we’ll keep working to do that.”
Down 8-5 entering the bottom of the 7th, Stanford needed some magic and they got it. Chan would get walked after which Mahler singled to center field to advance Chan to second base. Berry then struck out swinging after which Florida State made a pitching change with Jazzy Francik, the Seminoles’ ace with a 1.67 ERA, coming in to shut the door.
The first batter Francik faced was Joie Economides, who would hit an infield fly to short stop for the second out. Ava Gall then got walked to load up the bases. Up next to the plate would be Sheppard who on a 1-0 count homered to deep left field for the grand slam to make it a 9-8 victory for the Cardinal. The whole stadium went nuts as Sheppard came around the bases.
“Kind of same with Taryn, they kind of got me, like my first at-bat and I knew that was just a moment where I really needed to be there for my team,” Sheppard said of her grand slam. “And it really just helped to have them be supportive of me and I knew I had confidence when I got up there…Yeah, I think it says a lot about how we’ve grown throughout the season and we’ve just really banded together as a team and really focused on being together and fighting for the entirety of the game and I think it just really shows our growth. We definitely had some like, hard times throughout the season and I think it shows an upward trajectory right now.”
“She’s just amazing,” Kern said of Sheppard. “Mark my words, I could not have done that as a freshman. So, her maturity, like, it inspires me and I’m just so proud of her.”
What made the win all the more special for Stanford was Taryn Kern received a Golden Ticket to the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) after the game, which means she has been drafted by one of the league’s teams. She just doesn’t know which team drafted her, but she’ll find out on May 4th. It was a surreal moment for Kern. Truly a storybook night for her.
“Honestly just overwhelmed with just happiness, you know?” Kern said of the honor. “And I think so much has happened in the last hour. So I think I’m just trying to, like, process everything and I’m just super happy and grateful.”
“Oh totally, I told Taryn afterwards, I said ‘see, you never know how the night’s gonna end regardless of how it begins.’ And I think Shep kind of touched on it here, too. I think Taryn will be the first person to tell you she wasn’t happy with her first three at-bats. And then to get that opportunity in the 6th to come up with runners on and I mean, if you’ve followed Taryn long enough, you know that she doesn’t swing at the first pitch all that often and to know that she’s getting a change up and to hit the change up on the first pitch, that takes some guts and I’m really proud of her for going outside of her comfort zone and doing that. And then to cap it off with a walk-off granny, followed by a golden ticket, storybook is absolutely the right word.”
READ: Stanford’s Taryn Kern given eighth AUSL Golden Ticket
Speaking of storybook, Addyson Sheppard hitting a grand slam to beat the No. 5 team in the nation with their ace in the circle is pretty amazing. The fact that as a freshman she was able to deliver the goods like that is remarkable. Just an all-around great night for the Cardinal.
“I don’t think it even went through my mind about who I was playing,” Sheppard said. “I think the main thing I’m always thinking about is how I can help my team and how we can all succeed. I think it’s really important to understand that it’s more than yourself and it’s a lot about your team.”
“Well and then add on that, she got pinched hit for earlier in the game,” Allister said of Sheppard. “You know, had a bad first at-bat. We pinch hit for her with Syd. And instead of that carrying over and her losing her confidence there, she got off a good hack. So Shep, she can really play. She can really hit. She can really defend. Big-time ball player. And she’s had a lot of really big moments for us. She’s had a little bit of ups and downs, like everybody does. Specifically your freshman year, but she’s a ball player.”
Up next for Stanford is a home game against Florida State on Saturday, the second game of the series. That will begin at 7:00 PM PT on ESPN.
“I think the first thing is, I’m happy we play a night game tomorrow,” Allister said. “You know oftentimes, Saturday is at 2:00 and that’s a quicker turnaround. I think these hours, extra hours are gonna be good for us. And then you just show up and compete again. You know, anybody who’s been around bat and ball sports long enough, you never know exactly what it’s gonna look like on any given day. So, I think we gained some confidence tonight, which is a good thing and I think we can look to build on some of that momentum and take care of the ball one pitch at a time.”
“I think just sticking to our approach,” Kern said looking ahead to Saturday. “Being excited about tomorrow and just coming in fresh and taking this confidence but also resetting pretty well.”
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