On Friday, No. 9 Stanford softball defeated No. 5 Alabama 2-0 to stay alive in the Women’s College World Series. Alana Vawter (21-8) was the winning pitcher for the Cardinal in a starting role while NiJaree Canady (4) got the save. Montana Fouts (25-11) was the losing pitcher for the Crimson Tide.
BOX SCORE: Stanford vs. Alabama-Friday, June 2nd
VIDEO: Stanford Softball Postgame Press Conference-Alabama (Friday, June 2nd)
“Another great day of softball,” Stanford head coach Jessica Allister said after the game. “I thought our team came out and was good from the get-go. I thought Taylor Gindlesperger set a great tone offensively. You know Kylie Chung squaring up the ball in the first inning and then AV just did a phenomenal job coming in and setting the tone in the circle and I thought we built from there. So great start by AV. She threw a freaking gem. A good finish by NiJa and obviously Syd Steele squared the ball up a couple of times, but great team effort, made some great defensive plays too, and just really proud of the group.”
Stanford scored their first run in the top of the 2nd inning as Sydney Steele doubled to right center to bring home Emily Schultz. Steele would be responsible for Stanford’s other run as she hit a solo blast to left field in the top of the 7th to make it a 2-0 lead. Alabama did not score any runs and only had one hit, failing to make much of a dent against Stanford’s elite pitching and defense.
In this game, Stanford had some pretty clutch defensive plays. Taylor Gindlesperger had a pretty diving catch in center field for the first out of the 1st inning, drawing a smile from Vawter. Kaitlyn Lim had a ridiculous diving catch in right field to end the bottom of the 6th inning, firing up her team as Canady was now in the circle.
For Stanford, this is the kind of win that they are very much accustomed to. Low scoring with the pitching being on fire. Vawter struck out five batters while Canady struck out three. Vawter does a great job of deception with her pitches while Canady just throws so much heat that it’s tough for teams to get a good swing on it. They are a fabulous combination and showed why they were able to make it to Oklahoma City.
As for Sydney Steele, she was fantastic. Just really clutch hitting. This Stanford team has struggled to hit home runs all season and so for her to hit a big fly on this stage is huge. Especially when you consider she has a rather meager .215 batting average.
“Like AV said it's just another softball game,” Steele said of her performance. “I know Montana Fouts is a good ballplayer; she's a great pitcher. I knew from my previous at-bats that she started off inside both times and I knew if I step in that box I have to be ready and swing at pitches I know I can swing and that's what I did.”
Across the diamond, Stanford baseball is well aware of the success that the softball team is having. When asked if they are following the Women’s College World Series, Esquer made it clear that they are following very closely and sending the softball team all their support.
“Oh, it’s on in our office right now,” Esquer said after their regional win over San Jose State. “I mean, we watch it. We watch it pretty closely. I was in our locker room yesterday and they’re watching it. So, even on both sides, a number of those girls have worked my summer camps. So, I know them pretty closely. Alana Vawter and Emily Young the short stop, they worked summer camp and so we got a great relationship with them and Coach Allister and I talk all the time. So hey, we’re big fans of each other’s programs, so we’re watching pretty closely. So, there’ll be a text tonight from Coach Allister to us and I wished them well and we’ll text them tonight win or lose.”
Touching quickly on Alabama, this loss really stings, but they should be proud of the way they competed against a really good Stanford team. Fouts gave it her all in the circle despite wearing a knee brace. She pitched the entire game and really can hold her head high for the way she battled even though her team came up short and has been eliminated.
Up next for Stanford is a game on Sunday against Florida State/Washington at 12:00 PM PT on ABC. They will once again be looking to stave off elimination.
To connect with CardinalSportsReport.com on Facebook and Twitter, click here.
To connect with Ben Parker on Facebook and Twitter, click here.
Email: slamdunk406@yahoo.com
