This weekend, No. 16 Stanford softball will have a big series against No. 22 Virginia at Stanford Stadium. Stanford comes in at 33-9 overall and 11-7 in the ACC while Virginia comes in at 34-14 overall and 13-8 in the ACC. Game one will be on Friday at 6:00 PM PT on ACCNX. Game two will be on Saturday at 2:00 PM PT on ACCNX. Game three will be on Sunday at 12:00 PM PT.
Last time out: Stanford defeated Sacramento State 14-4 on the road on Tuesday in a game that ended in five innings. Jade Bery went 2-2 for one home run and four RBIs to lead the way.
On Virginia: The Cavaliers are having a strong season, most recently taking two out of three at home against Louisville. Before that they swept Syracuse at home, and in their most recent game, they defeated James Madison 11-0. So, they’re coming in with some momentum.
Sophomore infielder Bella Cabral is the top contact hitter for the Cavaliers, batting .406 for nine home runs and 38 RBIs to go along with a .725 slugging percentage and a .467 on base percentage. The top power hitter is junior infielder Jade Hylton, who is batting .381 for 15 home runs and 43 RBIs to go along with a .816 slugging percentage and a .492 on base percentage.
As a team, the Cavaliers are batting .316 for 298 runs, 58 home runs, 272 RBIs, a .551 slugging percentage, and a .394 on base percentage. Their opponents are batting .226 for 160 runs, 22 home runs, 143 RBIs, a .320 slugging percentage, and a .337 on base percentage. On the pitching side, the Cavaliers have a 2.71 ERA while their opponents have a 5.99 ERA.
Keys to the series: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is just play smart softball. As long as they make good decisions with their base running and let the game come to them, they should like their chances of winning the series. Avoid errors and mental mistakes.
Secondly, they need Kylie Chung (3.29 ERA) and Alyssa Houston (3.20 ERA) to continue to do their thing. They’ve both been doing a great job pitching, Chung starting and Houston closing it out. As long as they continue on their current trajectory, Stanford should be fine.
Lastly, Stanford needs to win the home run battle. Virginia has some girls that can go yard as does Stanford (Taryn Kern, Jade Berry, etc.) Whichever team has more home runs will have an advantage in the series for sure.
Prediction: I’ll pick Stanford to take two out of three. Sweeping Virginia will be tough, but I think Stanford finds a way to win the series.
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