PALO ALTO, Calif. – After two weeks at home, Santa Clara softball lost to Stanford by a final of 13-5 in six innings and No. 17 Minnesota 9-6 in the Stanford Invitational. The Broncos are now 5-16 on the season.
Santa Clara returns to the field tomorrow, Sun., March 8 at 12:30 p.m. at Stanford.
Game 1
Ciara Gonzales (5-7) started for Santa Clara and picked up a loss in 3.0 innings. Gonzales allowed eight runs, three earned, on nine hits with three walks and a strikeout. Ashley Haney was 2-3 with two RBI to lead the offense. Jenna Krummen was 2-2 with a walk and two runs scored while Jordan Newell took two walks and scored two runs.
Kylie Sorenson (2-1) started for Stanford and picked up a win in 3.0 innings. Sorenson allowed one unearned run on three hits with a walk. Hanna Winter was 3-4 with a triple, three runs scored, and two RBI to lead the offense. Cassandra Roulund was 2-4 with a double, two runs scored, and three RBI while Sorenson was 1-3 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI.
With runners on first and third and one down in the bottom of the fist, Erin Ashby knocked in the first run of the day with a single to right. After the second out was recorded, an error loaded the bases for the Cardinal. A double by Roulund cleared the bases and made it a four-run first. After a pair of walks loaded the bases, Hanna Winter was hit by a pitch to bring in the fifth run of the inning. Another error made it a 6-0 game before the final out was recorded.
Back-to-back one out walks for Santa Clara set up a two-run inning in the second. After the second out was recorded, Haney singled to center to bring in a run. Ellie Fisher followed with an RBI single to make the score 6-2.
Stanford got the two runs back in the bottom of the third with a two out rally. A single and stolen base let to an RBI single by Tylyn Wells. Kayla Bonstrom doubled to put runners on second and third and an infield single knocked in another run.
Newell led off the fourth with a walk and Krummen followed with a single through the left side. Justine Garner doubled down the left field line and Haney followed with a two-run single to make it an 8-5 Bronco deficit.
McCall James came in to pitch for Santa Clara to start the bottom of the fourth. Roulund led off with a single up the middle and Sorenson blasted a home run to right.
The Cardinal scored three in the bottom of the sixth to take the game.
Game 2
Briana Rios (0-6) started for Santa Clara and picked up a loss in 3.1 innings. Rios allowed five runs, four earned, on nine hits with three walks. Kelli Tatum was 1-2 with a run scored and three RBI to lead the offense. Fisher was 2-4 with a run scored while Breezy Bernard added an RBI.
Kylie Stober (4-1) started for Minnesota and picked up a win in 6.0 innings. Stober allowed five runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Sara Groenewegen picked up her first save in 0.2 innings. Taylor LeMay was 1-3 with two walks, a home run, and three RBI to lead the offense. Hannah Granger was 2-3 with a run scored and three RBI while Sam Macken was 2-5 with two runs scored.
Macken led off the game with a single and would steal second with one out and moved to third on an error. She would come in to score on a sac fly to make it 1-0.
After Minnesota added another run in the third, they scored four times in the fourth. Tyler Walker led off and singled. She would steal second and move to third on a bunt single. Kaitlyn Richardson knocked in a run with a double and both base runners would score on an RBI single by Granger.
The Gophers scored four times in the top of the sixth but Santa Clara fought back with five of their own in the bottom of the inning. Fisher led off with a bunt single and moved up to second on a wild pitch. A groundout put Fisher on third but she was still there with two down. A wild pitch got Santa Clara on the scoreboard with two outs in the sixth. A walk, an error, and a single loaded the bases for the Broncos and Tatum doubled in all three runs. She scored on an error by the catcher to make it a 9-5 game.
In the bottom of the seventh Fisher reached on an error with one down and Casandra Padilla was hit by a pitch. Breezy Bernard followed with an RBI single that moved Padilla around to third. Groenewegen came in to pitch and got the last two outs via strikeout to save the win.
