Feb. 19, 2006
Stanford, Calif. - On the final day of the Stanford Invitation, Santa Clara and No. 7 Stanford were involved in a pitchers dual, with Jackie Morales and Becky McCullough performing well for their respective teams and limiting offensive production from both sides with smart pitching. In the end, the Cardinal's power hitting proved to be too big of an obstacle to overcome, as the home team won 4-0 this afternoon.
Through the first four and a half innings, both Morales and McCullough performed magnificently, as the pitchers only allowed a combined three hits between the two of them. However, in the bottom of the fourth, Maddy Coon unleashed a two-run homer to left field off of Morales that gave Stanford an early 2-0 lead that they would not relinquish. In the following inning, the Cardinal added two more insurance runs thanks to another two-run homer, this time by Catalina Morris.
Santa Clara attempted to rally in the subsequent innings, but McCullough kept the visitors hitless the rest of the way. For the game, Jillian Cassel and Shannon Linerud led the Bronco offense, as the duo combined for two hits.
Morales (1-2), who struck out four batters, took the loss, while McCullough (3-0) picked up her third win of the season.
Santa Clara drops its season record to 4-5 and returns to action next weekend when it travels up to Seattle, Wash. to participate in a tournament hosted by the University of Washington.
