On Saturday, No. 18 Stanford softball fell to Cal at home by a final score of 10-8. Miranda De Nava (11-4) was the winning pitcher for the Golden Bears in a relief role while Zoe Prystajko (10-4) was the losing pitcher for the Cardinal in a starting role. Cal 1st baseman Tianna Bell led the way for the Golden Bears going 2-3 for one home run and four RBIs while 3rd baseman Jade Berry and right fielder Kyra Chan each had one home run and three RBIs for the Cardinal. Cal improves to 29-16 overall and 6-11 in the ACC while Stanford falls to 32-8 overall and 11-6 in the ACC. Despite the loss, Stanford still took the series 2-1.
VIDEO: Stanford Postgame Press Conference: Cal-Big Swing
BOX SCORE: Cal at Stanford-Saturday, April 19th
“Yeah, I guess I don’t know that I’ll give my thoughts just on the day,” Stanford head coach Jessica Allister said after the game. “I think any time you play an ACC opponent, you talk about the series and it’s a really big series win to come out and beat Cal. So, really proud of us coming out, taking the series, and then obviously today was a good day of softball. Would I have liked to have been on the other side? Yes, but what a great experience. A lot of effort went into getting this day together and to see the fan engagement and excitement and people show up and then, as you guys mentioned, have a really good ball game. You know, wish we came out on the other side, but what a great day of softball.”
Before I get into the events of the game itself, the goal coming in for Stanford Athletics was to break the NCAA attendance record for softball. Regular season or postseason. With a total of 13,207 in attendance it was mission accomplished while also setting the record for most fans in attendance at a Stanford athletics event on The Farm outside of football. There was a fantastic crowd out with fans from both Stanford and Cal, contributing to a history-making day.
“I think it was pretty awesome,” Kyra Chan said of the experience. “Like, we reached the record of 13,000 people and it was just nice to be out there. It was kind of like a mini World Series experience. It was the last time we had that many fans. So it was nice to have people rooting for Stanford and it was just nice to see that people care and that people show up when we ask them to. So it was really cool.”
“I’d say the same thing as Kyra,” Stanford left fielder Caelan Koch echoed. “It was surreal. Super. Just awesome to see. Like, everyone you care about up in the stands, how excited they are. For us to be out there and just to be out there with your best friends competing. So, it was great.”
As for the game, it did not disappoint as the final score shows. It was a high scoring, back and forth game with a lot of home runs from both sides. That made it all the more special as everyone that came out got their money’s worth.
In the top of the 1st inning, Cal came out guns blazing as they scored five runs. Elon Butler went yard to center field in the very opening at bat. Lagi Quiroga then hit a double to center field after which Acacia Anders got hit by a pitch. Tianna Bell then hit a two-RBI double to center field after which Kaylee Pond hit a home run to right field. Zoe Prystajko would then strike out three of the next four batters to end the top of the inning.
In the bottom of the 1st, Stanford quickly responded as Jade Berry hit a three-run home run to center field to bring home River Mahler and Emily Jones with one out. Stanford wouldn’t add any more runs the rest of the inning, making it 5-3.
Cal had another answer in the top of the 2nd inning as Bell hit a two-run shot to right center with two outs, bringing home Anders. That made it 7-3. Kylie Chung was pitching for the Cardinal at that point as Prystajko was pulled out. Stanford was unable to answer in the bottom of the 2nd, keeping it a 7-3 game.
In the top of the 3rd inning, Chung made quick work of the Bears’ batters as she got three straight batters out. In the bottom of the 3rd, Stanford pulled within one run as Chan hit a three-run home run to right field to bring home Berry and Jones. That made it 7-6. In the top of the 4th inning, Cal added three runs with Alyssa Houston now pitching for the Cardinal. With one out, Butler got walked after which Quiroga was walked. Anders then hit a single and advanced to second base thanks to a fielding error in the outfield. That advanced Quiroga to third base and brought Butler home. Bell then flied out to left field, advancing Anders to third and bringing home Quiroga. Pond then singled to second base and brought home Anders. Mika Lee then popped up to Houston to end the top of the inning. 10-6 Cal was in front.
From there, Cal would hang on to win 10-8 as Stanford was unable to rally. Stanford added a run in the bottom of the 5th inning as Joie Economides went yard to right field to make it 10-7. In the bottom of the 6th, Stanford added another run, but failed to capitalize on a golden opportunity to tie up the game:
With no outs, Caelan Koch hit a single through the right side after which Allie Clements doubled down the left field line to advance Koch to third base. Taryn Kern then flied out to center field to bring home Koch while Clements got picked off at second base for the second out. Emily Jones then fouled out to first base to end the bottom of the inning. It was 10-8 as Cal was still in front.
In the 7th inning, Stanford failed to even things up after preventing Cal from scoring. 10-8 ended up being the final score as Cal got the win on Big Swing. Stanford made a real effort to come back, but when you get down 5-0 in the 1st inning, that’s a lot to overcome.
For Cal, this was a nice win. Stanford is a ranked opponent and was eager to get the sweep in front of a record setting crowd. Cal showed what kind of softball they are capable of playing. They just need to figure out how to do so with more consistency.
“I think they’re a scrappy team,” Koch said of the Bears. “So I think they came out, like you said, wanting to win. I think we put a lot of offensive pressure on them today, but they also put offensive pressure on us. So, I think some of the small things that we can do better, then I think we can win.”
As for Stanford, the game itself didn’t go the way they wanted, but the day did. What I mean by that is even though they lost, they were able to set the NCAA softball record for attendance all while having beautiful weather and an entertaining game for the fans to enjoy. And then hey, while they didn’t win the game, Stanford still won the series 2-1. This is probably about as close as you’re going to get to having a losing team still feel like winners.
“Yeah, it was really cool,” Chan said of the game. “I also have to say, like our offense, I feel like is very resilient this year and I think that when we get kind of punched in the mouth, when we come back and we score runs and I just think that I’m just really proud of us this year for sure.”
“Yeah, I completely agree,” Koch added. “Really proud of our offense and it’s awesome when there’s these amazing plays that are getting made in the infield, outfield. Everyone’s just going forward and giving their best. So yeah, it’s great.”
What really added to the atmosphere was the way the entire Stanford athletic community came out to show support. Men’s basketball head coach Kyle Smith was in attendance and football general manager Andrew Luck threw out the first pitch. It truly was a celebration of Stanford athletics.
“Yeah, Andrew is great,” Alister said of Luck. “He was around a lot even before he was around in an official capacity and was just an excellent supporter of the program, came to a lot of games, brought his family to a lot of games, and was really an active participant in really anything that we asked of him to help us with. So, to have him now in an official capacity and get to see him often is amazing. I have great respect for him. Really enjoy being around him. You know, no one represents Stanford quite to the level that Andrew Luck does and is passionate about this place and it’s great to have him around.”
At this point, Stanford just needs to make sure they continue to build on the momentum that they created from this awesome weekend. Their hitting was great and overall, their pitching was fine. Prystajko had a rough day, but she’ll learn and get better from this experience.
“I think the other piece of the story of the season that maybe we haven’t talked enough about is, you know, we got three pitchers,” Allister said with a bit of a laugh. “And that’s a good thing. You know, what it’s meant is that those three pitchers get a lot of opportunity. And just like the offense, you know, pitching is going to be a journey and any skill that you do, you’re gonna kinda have your ups and downs and some of your struggles and you know, sometimes having three pitchers is hard, but also what it means is you get to get back out on the horse and you get to try again and for us to accomplish our goals this year, we’re gonna need Zoe and she can do it.
“So it was good to get her out there, good to get the start. Obviously, you know, a rough first five hitters, but I was proud of the way she came back six through nine, picked up three Ks there, got us back in the dugout, and it’s gonna take all three of them. So, it’s a situation where it’s really good that our pitchers, they get to throw and they get to throw a lot and even if they have a rough day, they get to get back out there and throw more. So, it’s going to take all three of them and we’re going to keep using them.”
Up next for Stanford is a road game at Sacramento State on Tuesday. That will begin at 4:00 PM PT on ESPN+.
“Hopefully a lot of people who showed up to Stanford for the first time to watch a softball game will come back and see us in our beautiful stadium next year,” Allister said. “So, it was a great day for softball, it was a great day for Stanford softball, it was a great day for Bay Area softball, and I’m really proud of all the work that went into it and really proud to be a part of it.”
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