On Sunday, Stanford softball fell to No. 16 Oregon in the regional round of the NCAA tournament in Eugene by a final score of 10-7. It was the championship game of the regional round and Stanford was unable to get over the top. Elise Sokolsky (18-4) was the winning pitcher for the Ducks in a relief role while Zoe Prystajko (12-5) was the losing pitcher for the Cardinal in a relief role.
BOX SCORE: Stanford at Oregon-Sunday, May 18th
Stanford jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning as Joie Economides went yard for a grand slam off Oregon pitcher Lyndsey Grein. Oregon would respond in the bottom of the 2nd inning as Katie Flannery hit a three-run home run off Stanford pitcher Alyssa Houston to make it 4-3.
The 3rd inning was action packed as both teams scored. In the top of the 3rd inning, Economides hit a three-run home run to make it 7-3. In the bottom of the 3rd, Oregon responded with a two-run home run from Emma Cox, making it 7-5.
Neither team scored in the 4th inning, keeping it 7-5. In the bottom of the 5th, Oregon added one run as a wild pitch from Houston allowed Kedre Luschar to come home, making it 7-6. In the bottom of the 6th, Oregon tied it up 7-7 as Kai Luschar hit an RBI single to bring home Dezianna Patmon, who was on 3rd base after hitting a triple. Prystajko was now pitching for Stanford, having replaced Houston to close out the bottom of the 5th.
In the bottom of the 7th, Oregon won the game as Patmon hit a three-run home run with one out, making it a 10-7 final score. The Ducks advanced to the super regional round where they will host Liberty after they knocked off the top seeded Texas A&M Aggies.
For Stanford, this is obviously not the way they wanted their season to end, but at the same time, they can hold their heads high knowing they gave it their all as they pushed Oregon to the absolute brink. They battled hard all season long and for the most part got as much out of their roster as they could. It certainly will be fun to see what next season brings.
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