On Wednesday, #8 Stanford softball defeated Santa Clara 4-1 on the road. Stanford senior pitcher Alana Vawter (4-1, 1.32 ERA) was the winning pitcher for the Cardinal, pitching 6.0 innings while giving up six hits and one earned run to go along with eight strikeouts while junior catcher Aly Kaneshiro went 1-for-2 with 2 RBIs. Santa Clara sophomore pitcher Sage Hager (1-2, 4.85 ERA) was awarded the loss, pitching 4.0 innings while giving up one earned run and one hit. Stanford improves to 9-2 on the season while Santa Clara falls to 3-7.
BOX SCORE: Stanford at Santa Clara
In the top of the 1st inning, Stanford didn’t generate much offensively as only Kaneshiro got on base, thanks to a fielding error. Outside of that, nobody else got on base for the Cardinal.
In the bottom of the 1st, the only player who got on base for Santa Clara was Ashley Trierweiler, who was walked. After that, Stanford starting pitcher NiJaree Canady got back-to-back strikeouts before Trierweiler was caught trying to steal second base.
In the top of the 2nd inning, Kaitlyn Lim and Emily Jones both grounded out while Emily Schultz fouled out to left field. The Cardinal continued to not have much offensive success.
In the bottom of the 2nd, Vawter came in to pitch for Canady. Vawter came out with the heat, forcing a ground out followed by two strikeouts. It was still a 0-0 game at the end of the 2nd inning.
In the top of the 3rd inning, there was a bit more action for the Cardinal offense, though they still failed to score a run. Emily Young got walked to lead things off after which Dani Hayes advanced to first base via fielder’s choice as Young was out at second base. Taylor Gindlesperger then flied out to center field before Hayes was caught trying to steal second base, ending the top of the inning.
In the bottom of the 3rd, Vawter made quick work of the Broncos’ lineup: fly out, strike out, and strike out. She was continuing to make things tough for the opposing hitters. It remained a 0-0 game at the end of the 3rd inning.
In the top of the 4th inning, River Mahler got things going for the Cardinal with a triple to right center. Up next would be Kaneshiro, who flied out to right field, bringing home Mahler. Caelan Koch would then fly out to left field after which Kaitlyn Lim flied out to right field, ending the top of the inning. The Cardinal would have liked to have added more runs, but they at least now had a 1-0 lead.
“River is putting together a great at bat after great at bat after great at bat,” Stanford head coach Jessica Allister said of Mahler. “So obviously the triple to start off the inning [was important].”
In the bottom of the 4th, the Broncos showed some signs of life offensively, though they were not able to score. With one out, Bailey McLaughlin singled to third base. Then, Allyson Ferreira advanced to first base on fielder’s choice as McLaughlin was out at second base for the second out. Sammy Needham then singled to short stop, advancing Ferreira to second base. Morgan Salmon then flied out to left field to end the inning. 1-0 lead for Stanford.
In the top of the 5th inning, Stanford’s offense wasn’t able to get going at all as they had two ground outs and a fly out. In the bottom of the 5th, Santa Clara had a bit more success as Abigail Charpentier was able to hit a single to short stop with two outs. Unfortunately for the Broncos, Lauren LaHood struck out looking to end the inning. Still a 1-0 lead for Stanford.
In the top of the 6th inning, Stanford was finally able to get some more breathing room. With one out, Gindlesperger doubled to left center after which Mahler grounded out to second base, advancing Gindlesperger to third base. Kaneshiro then singled to center field to bring home Gindlesperger. 2-0 lead for the Cardinal. Koch then hit a single to right field, advancing Kaneshiro to third base. Ellee Eck then came in to pinch run for Koch.
“Honestly, I just think I was trying to keep it simple,” Kaneshiro said of the key to her hitting. “Not trying to do too much. I mean, I gotta give it to River and Taylor for finding a way to get on and then just trying to do a job. Tying to like, yeah, trying to keep it simple I guess is the best way to put it.”
Thanks to a wild pitch, Eck was able to advance to second base with Kaneshiro still on third. Lim was then able to make contact and force a fielding error at second base, bringing home both Kaneshiro and Eck while she advanced to first base. This made it a 4-0 lead for the Cardinal. In the next at-bat, Jones grounded out to third base to end the top of the inning.
“Well I think you just gotta continue to try to hit the ball hard,” Allister said of the key to their 6th inning success. “I thought earlier on we had some opportunities to score and they made some good plays. If you can just continue to put off consistent pressure, then eventually it’s gonna work.
“The 6th inning, oh man, how did we get on? Taylor. And Taylor had been hitting the ball hard all night. Didn’t really have anything to show for it. So, Taylor driving the ball and then Biggie having her best at-bat of the night, so I believe we can score up and down the line up, but we just need consistent offensive pressure.”
In the bottom of the 6th, Vawter was able to make quick work of the Broncos’ lineup, getting two ground outs and a strike out. 4-0 lead for Stanford at the end of the 6th inning.
In the top of the 7th inning, Stanford wasn’t able to generate any runs. Ella Nadeau hit a single through the left side with two outs, but in the next at-bat, she would be out at second base to end the top of the inning.
In the bottom of the 7th, Vawter trotted out on the mound to finish off the Broncos. Vawter was able to get the first batter out as Needham grounded out to second base. Up next would be Salmon, who was able to single to short stop, giving the Broncos a bit of hope. Then, Ella Romero came in to pinch hit for Cameron McGinnis, hitting a single through the left side to advance Salmon to second base. Emma Bickford then singled to center field, bringing home Salmon and advancing Romero to second base. It was now a 4-1 game.
“That’s an excellent question,” Vawter said when asked how she kept her cool in that moment. “Yeah, I’d say Coach Allister mentioned this, too. Like we just have to be able to finish ball games. So I think in the seventh, when it kinda gets a little bit hard and feel like the game is on the line, you just gotta believe in your stuff, trust your defense, and throw the next pitch.”
With two runners on base and one out, things were getting interesting. However, Vawter was able to finish the job from there as Romero got tagged out at second base unassisted by the short stop Emily Young after which LaHood struck out swinging to end the game. It got a little interesting in the bottom of the 7th, but the Cardinal still pulled it out 4-1.
“I thought AV beared down,” Allister said of the key to finishing off the game. “Which is an important skillset and we talk about being tough not perfect. And I think that probably encaptures what she was today. So, they strung a couple together, you know, found a couple holes here and there, but she executed great pitches in big moments and was tough as nails. So, I’m really proud of her effort today.”
For Santa Clara, this is a frustrating loss because they had their chance in the 7th inning to come back and were it not for the Cardinal scoring three runs in the 6th inning, this game could have gone into extra innings and who knows what happens from there.
For Stanford, there’s really not much to complain about. They would have liked to have gotten more runs early, but in the end they got enough. The pitching from Vawter and Canady was excellent and when you have pitchers like that on the mound, that really takes a lot of pressure off the bats.
“One, I was really proud of the way AV came in tonight,” Allister said of the pitching. “She wasn’t scheduled to go in the game that early and circumstances changed and she got the ball sooner than she thought she was going to get the ball and I thought it showed really great mental toughness and maturity to get ready quickly and go in there and shut’em down. So really impressed with what Vawter did tonight.
“And yeah, been really impressed with our entire pitching staff so far this year. Obviously, NiJaree and AV are off to great starts and give us a chance to beat anybody in the country. So, pitching and defense are gonna be a strength for us again and they’re off to a good start.”
Still, even with the pitching being what it was, Vawter was happy to have the run support come when it did. She admitted that it definitely takes a bit of pressure off when you know you’ve got some run support as you look to close out a game.
“Run support is huge,” Vawter said. “It’s always huge whenever there’s runs on the board. It’s really easy to pitch ahead and go at batters. Pitch like you have nothing to lose because you kinda of don’t at a certain point. So yeah, getting the runs on the board was huge and just knowing that our hitters were fighting the whole game to be able to string some things together was really powerful.”
Going back to Kaneshiro and the night she had, her hitting has been key to their offense all season long. She really takes pride in being a catcher who can help her team both on offense and defense. While some catchers are more defensive in nature, she’s one who can get hits and generate offensive momentum for her team.
“Yeah, I take a lot of pride in it,” Kaneshiro said. “I just think that the best mentality for me is to find a way to help the team. So whether that be catching or hitting, if there’s one thing that I can do to make the team a little bit better and help us win, then I’m gonna do it.”
After their five straight wins in Georgia, to win a sixth in a row with this win at Santa Clara definitely feels good for Stanford. They like the flow they are in and feel like they’re really starting to click in this early part of the season.
“Oh yeah, definitely,” Kaneshiro said when asked if the winning streak felt good. “And I’m really proud of this team. I think we are doing a really good job just working together. I think each win is a team win, pitching is incredible, defense is great, hitting is awesome, so I just think that it’s a really good feeling and we need to keep that good positive energy through the rest of the season.”
Up next for Stanford is the Stanford Invitational. After being on the road for a while, the Cardinal will finally get a chance play in front of their home fans. Their first game will be on Friday against Nevada. That will begin at 5:00 PM PT on Stanford Live Stream.
“We’re super excited to get back to home games this weekend,” Vawter said. “Just to be able to play in front of our home crowd. But yeah, all of the games that we’ve been able to pick up on the road have been really fun environments to be able to play in and to see what this team is capable of and I really think the sky is the limit and we kind of show that as much as we can on any game basis against any team. So, really excited to bring all that energy to Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium this weekend.”
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