Softball bounces back in Super Regionals game two
After dropping the first game of the Super Regionals against No. 9 LSU (44-16, 12-12 SEC), No. 8 Stanford (47-15, 17-7 Pac-12) bounced back with a 3-0 victory yesterday, forcing a winner-take-all game three. Sophomore pitcher NiJaree Canady bounced back from her game one performance, striking out nine batters in a two-hit shutout.
Both teams remained scoreless in the first two innings. But in the top of the third, with two Cardinal batters already retired, sophomore second baseman Taryn Kern crushed a triple. Then, sophomore left-fielder Kyra Chan hit an RBI double, plating Kern and putting Stanford in the driver’s seat.
“As you go, you never know exactly what the story is going to look like, but we love it, and we’re excited to come back out here tomorrow,” said head coach Jessica Allister ’04. “I love the way that we came out and were aggressive right away [and] love the way that NiJa went at them right away.”
”This is the stuff that propels you throughout. It’s a huge win.”
After an intermittent scoring drought for both teams, sophomore shortstop River Mahler started the top of the seventh inning with a triple. Next, an RBI double by sophomore center-fielder Emily Jones brought Mahler home. Jones later scored on an RBI single by Chan, extending the Cardinal lead to 3-0.
LSU head coach Beth Torina praised her team’s performance and said they would look to play more aggressively and strategically in the third game.
“I think our team came out on our heels a little bit, but anytime you’re facing a NiJaree Canady, it’s going to be tough. So, I think we have to kind of go back to the drawing board, play the game with more aggressiveness [and] make some better decisions at the plate,” Torina said. “But a lot of credit to Stanford and the game they played, and NiJaree.”
The third and final game of the Super Regional starts today at 6:30 p.m. PT.
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