On Sunday, No. 8 Stanford softball advanced to the Super Regional round of the NCAA tournament, where they will host No. 9 LSU. Stanford faced Cal State Fullerton in the regional final and dropped the first game 8-1 before bouncing back to win 4-2 in the second game of the day. In game one, Cal State Fullerton junior Haley Rainey (19-7) was the winning pitcher for the Titans while Stanford senior Regan Krause (20-7) was the losing pitcher for the Cardinal. In game two, Stanford sophomore NiJaree Canady (22-4) was the winning pitcher for the Cardinal while Cal State Fullerton freshman Leanna Garcia (1-4) was the losing pitcher for the Titans.
BOX SCORE: Cal State Fullerton at Stanford Game 1-Sunday, May 19th
BOX SCORE: Cal State Fullerton at Stanford Game 2-Sunday, May 19th
“It was a great win,” Stanford head coach Jessica Allister said after the second game. “Really really really awesome win. Really proud of the entire team. I’m really proud of the women to my left and Fullerton is good. Fullerton is really really good. They played hard, they played well, they had plans, they executed, they got good pitching, they got good hitters, their defense was exceptional, so to come out and bounce back when it felt like we were a little bit snake bit and to stick with it was really really impressive. Couldn’t be more proud of the group. Excited to bring a super back to the farm.”
Starting with game one, Stanford was the first team to strike in the top of the 2nd inning as Allie Clements flied out to right field to advance River Mahler to third base and bring home Jade Berry. Both Berry and Mahler got on base by hitting singles. Stanford would not add any more runs the rest of the inning (or the game for that matter), giving them a 1-0 lead.
After Stanford failed to get anyone on base in the top of the 3rd inning, Cal State Fullerton evened things up in the bottom of the inning. Megan Delgadillo singled to short stop to get on base after which she stole second base with two outs. Hannah Becerra then hit a single right at Krause to advance Delgadillo to third base. Peyton Toto then singled through the left side to bring home Delgadillo and advance Becerra to second base. Krause then forced a ground out to end the bottom of the inning. It was now tied up 1-1 at the end of the 3rd inning.
Nobody got on base for Stanford in the top of the 4th inning, keeping it 1-1 entering the bottom of the 4th. In the bottom of the 4th, things got away from Krause and the Cardinal as the Titans scored three runs. Megan Delgadillo and Bailey Wallace hit RBI singles while Hannah Becerra hit an RBI ground out. Toto would then fly out to the end the bottom of the inning. It was now a 4-1 lead for the Titans at the end of the 4th inning.
From there, Cal State Fullerton would go on to win 8-1 as Stanford’s bats went cold and the pitching couldn’t hold. Krause would give up one more run in the bottom of the 5th inning before getting replaced by Alyssa Houston in the bottom of the 6th inning. Houston gave up three more runs in the bottom of the 6th.
With the win in game one, Cal State Fullerton forced a regional-final-deciding game seven of the weekend. The winner would advance to the Super Regional round of the NCAA tournament while the loser would go home.
“First game, you know I think our theme was just play with freedom,” Cal State Fullerton head coach Kelly Ford said. “And we kind of a nothing to lose. You know, we’re playing the number five team in the country and we’re number seventy two. So, statistically we’re going down, ladies. And I think they just kinda took that with we don’t have to play with any kind of pressure.
“Just have fun and let freedom really be what our game is about and I think they did that. You could feel the pressure from the other dugout and we just tried to really keep with that theme and I think towards the middle of game two just kinda ran out of cheer juice and you know, came up short. But, like I said, I’m just really proud of their performance. I mean, you watch game one you don’t know who is ranked five and who is ranked seventy two.”
While the Titans were feeling confident after their win, the Cardinal had a weapon that they had not yet used on the day: NiJaree Canady. Canady was held out of the first game so as to be as fresh as possible should she need to go in a second game.
“Oh, she’s awesome,” Ford said of Canady. “She’s awesome. You know, you could tell about the second half of this game, she said get on my back, ladies and let’s go. She just kicked in. She struck three of us out in one inning and that changed the momentum. She’s fantastic. Yeah. She’s gonna, she’s the one that’s taking them places. So, let’s see. I think they got a good shot of getting to College World Series.”
To the Titans’ credit, they would strike first against Canady and the Cardinal in the second game. In the top of the 1st inning, the Titans would not score, but they would get a hit as Kika Ramirez hit a single to right center. In the top of the 2nd inning, that’s when the Titans scored both of their runs:
After Peyton Toto hit a single, Jessi Alcala tripled down the right field line to bring home Toto. Candace Yingling then reached first base on an error, which allowed Alcala to come home. Delgadillo then grounded out to second base to end the top of the inning. The Titans would lead 2-0 going into the bottom of the 2nd inning.
In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Jade Berry would hit a single, but Caelan Koch then hit into a double play. River Mahler then singled up the middle before Emily Jones reached on a fielder’s choice as Mahler was out at second base. It remained a 2-0 lead for the Titans.
In the top of the 3rd inning, nobody got on base for the Titans as Canady got three straight strike outs. Canady was sending a message that the Titans were done scoring for the day. Now it was just a question of whether or not the Cardinal could get on the board and take the lead.
“NiJa is phenomenal, right?” Stanford senior catcher Aly Kaneshiro said of Canady. “Like there’s no doubt about it. It’s so fun getting to catch her. I think my job with NiJa and all our pitchers is just to help out in any way that I can. Help them get calls, help them catch the ball, like literally anything that I can do to make them successful is my goal. And NiJa, her energy is so contagious and it just fires me up all the time so when she stomps I’m screaming and I think like the vice versa.
“Yeah, I think the taking it personally she came into the huddle after the third inning when she struck out a side I think and she was screaming and was like they will not score after this. That was the last time they are scoring and we’re gonna win and that’s exactly what we did. So she absolutely fires me up. She fires up the whole team and it’s so fun to catch her for sure.”
“Yeah, and I have to say it’s easy to throw to Biggy honestly,” Canady said, referring to Kaneshiro’s nickname. “She makes all four of us look really good and we miss a lot more spots than people think just because, she makes them strikes. So she’s just amazing.”
In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Taryn Kern tripled to right center after which Kyra Chan reached first base on a fielder’s choice as Kern was safe at home plate. The Cardinal now were on the board, but they were not done. At this point, Garcia came in to pitch for Rainey, who would be done for the day.
Ava Gall then got walked, advancing Chan to second base. Kaneshiro then doubled to left center to bring home both Gall and Chan. Stanford would add one more run in the inning as Mahler hit a single up the middle to bring home Kaneshiro while Berry advanced to second base. Stanford would not add any more runs the rest of the inning, making it a 4-2 lead for the Cardinal at the end of the 3rd inning.
“I think going into it, again just trying to find a way to help the team,” Kaneshiro said of her double. “I think leading up to that we had some phenomenal at bats and then Ava drawing the walk and stuff to just bring me up. I was just looking for a good pitch to hit. I got behind in the count. Not necessarily what I would want to do, but just to stay present and just compete every pitch.
“She threw me a change up, I was just trying to stay as calm as I possibly could and just put the ball in the play and hit it hard somewhere. Just to keep the inning going. Worked out in my favor, thankfully, and then just to follow up, just incredible at bats after that. So, definitely a team win for sure.”
From there, Stanford would go on to win 4-2 as neither team scored the rest of the way. Stanford had a real opportunity to build their lead in the bottom of the 6th with Kern on first base and Mahler on third base, but Chan would strike out swinging to end the inning. That ended up not mattering for Stanford as Canady really stepped up her game. She closed the door on the Titans after the 2nd inning and once the Cardinal took the lead, it became clear how this game was going to end.
“I don’t know that I’ve seen a performance like what NiJa did after the second inning,” Allister said. “And just slamming the door and saying they will not get any more. And I look at these strikeout total and I’m not sure how many of those came after the second inning, but I think a lot of them and unbelievably gutsy. Unbelievably impressive. That’s a character performance right there. Unreal.”
“I just kept thinking that getting my team back in the dugout,” Canady said. “I knew we were going to score and I knew it was going to come. So, my whole mindset was get them back in the dugout…Just compete. Just leave it all on the field. And again, we have four years to make as many memories as possible. So just leave it out on the field.”
In the press conference, Canady was wearing a cape. Stanford likes to do fun things like that to keep the game loose and fun, which helps ease some of the tension that can come from a high stress game.
“I think they named it the cloak of victory,” Canady said with a laugh. “So we’re just kinda, just gonna keep it rolling.”
“Just the outfits of victory,” Kaneshiro said with a smile when asked of Kylie Chung’s armor of cups. “Just like how we have the cloak of victory, yeah, I think we’re just gonna have fun and just leave it all on the field whatever it may look like and Kylie is hilarious and she built that whole armor herself…She keeps it fun and lighthearted and that’s exactly what we want after a big win like today.”
Overall, this was a good day for Stanford. They got the win they needed and will host No. 9 LSU in the Super Regional round this upcoming week. Once you get into the NCAA tournament, it’s all about survive and advance and they did that. On that note, the upcoming Super Regional will begin on Friday at 7:00 PM PT on ESPNU. Stanford will get a bit of time to rest before resuming play all while having home field advantage. I’m sure Canady in particular will enjoy that after the work she put in over the weekend.
“They’re really really good,” Allister said of LSU. “I’ve watched them a fair amount actually this year ironically while I’ve been scouting other teams. But, we will worry about them tomorrow. Today we’re gonna sleep. We’re gonna drink lots of water. Right, NiJa? And we’ll get back to work, but we’ll be ready.”
“Yeah, I mean it’s awesome,” Kaneshiro said of having home field advantage. “And we were incredibly excited to be able to host both the regional and now a super-regional. I think it’s very well deserved and earned from the entire team with all the work that we’ve put in and just sticking with it and yeah, it’s great. We have a great fanbase here and it’s wonderful to be here with these fans and they’re the most loyal fans, too. So I’m sure they would follow us wherever we’d go as well. But, it’s awesome just to be here in this environment. Just be on the field that we love the most with the people we love most and enjoy every minute of it for sure.”
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