This weekend, #8 Stanford softball will close out their regular season at home against #11 Washington. Stanford comes in at 38-10 overall and 13-8 in the Pac-12 while Washington comes in at 35-10 overall and 14-7 in the Pac-12. The Huskies are currently tied for second place in the Pac-12 along with Oregon, one game ahead of Stanford. UCLA is running away with the league title, currently 21-3 in the Pac-12. So, it’s really a battle for second place this weekend.
Game one will be on Friday at 7:30 PM PT on ESPNU. Game two will be on Saturday at 7:00 PM PT on ESPN2. Game three will be on Sunday at 1:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks.
Last time out: Stanford was supposed to face Sacramento State on Wednesday at home for a doubleheader, but that got canceled due to the rain. Last weekend, Stanford completed a three-game sweep of Arizona State on the road. Stanford freshman NiJaree Canady picked up Pac-12 Freshman and Pitcher of the Week honors on Monday as a result.
On Washington: The Huskies are having a really strong season and in position to possibly finish second place out right in the Pac-12 if things go their way this weekend. They’ve been one of the top teams in the conference all season long and will look to finish the regular season on a strong note before the Pac-12 tournament comes rolling around next week.
The top contact and power hitter on this Washington team is fifth year infielder Baylee Klingler, who is batting .406 for 11 home runs, 41 RBIs, a .727 slugging percentage, and a .509 on base percentage. The other player with 11 home runs on the year is fifth-year outfielder Madison Huskey, who is batting .326 for 40 RBIs, a .645 slugging percentage, and a .405 on base percentage to go along with her home runs.
As a team, the Huskies are batting .304 for 56 home runs, 253 RBIs, a .518 slugging percentage, and a .401 on base percentage. Pitching-wise, the Huskies have a 2.75 ERA while their opponents have a 6.02 ERA. Their top two pitchers are freshman Ruby Meylan (15-4, 2.11 ERA, 167K, & 6 saves) and senior Kelley Lynch (8-2, 2.56 ERA, 94K, & 2 saves).
Keys to the series: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is not give up the long ball. Their pitching has been excellent all season long, giving up just 14 home runs to their opponents. Washington in contrast has gone yard 56 times, so they’re used to hitting home runs. If Stanford’s pitching can prevent Washington from hitting home runs, they should be fine.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is build on the successful offensive week they had in Tempe. Stanford defeated Arizona State 4-2 on Friday, 8-1 on Saturday, and 5-2 on Sunday in eight innings. The bats actually came alive last week for them and they were able to drive in some runs. If Stanford can keep that offensive attack going this weekend, that would be huge.
Finally, Stanford just needs to be the more mentally locked in team. This is supposed to be a tight and competitive series. Whichever team makes fewer mistakes and is more dialed in during clutch moments will win. Given they are at home, Stanford has to make sure they’re the team that is more in control.
Prediction: Stanford is at home and they’ve won five games in a row. I got the Cardinal taking two out of three games. The Huskies will make them earn it and it’s not going to be easy for the Cardinal to win this series, but I have to pick them to do it given they are at home.
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