Stanford softball picks up first ACC series win of the season

Stanford softball (14-6, 4-2 ACC) now sits in fourth place in the conference standings after bouncing back this past weekend with a series sweep over Pitt (13-9, 0-3 ACC). The home series win, Stanford’s first ACC series at home, came after losing two out of three to Louisville (18-5, 2-1 ACC) on the road last week.

Despite coming off of a rough series against the Cardinals, the Stanford offense was producing runs at a high clip and continued to in the series opener. Friday marked the third straight game Stanford had scored at least seven runs as timely offense and strong relief pitching led the way for an 8-2 win.

Freshman infielder Addyson Sheppard continued her strong start to the season, blasting a two-run home run in the third inning. Sheppard now has four home runs on the season, sitting behind only senior infielder Taryn Kern’s six long balls. On the pitching side, freshman Anna Brewer picked up her first collegiate win after only allowing two runs in 2.2 innings. Sophomore Zoe Prystajko closed out the win with three hitless innings and seven strikeouts, securing her second save of the season.

The second game on Saturday was a little tighter, but once again Prystajko came in and slammed the door shut on the Panthers. The Huntington Beach native entered the game in the fourth inning, allowing no hits the rest of the way while striking out nine batters to seal the 5-1 victory. 

Stanford trailed 1-0 through the first four innings, but senior outfielder Kyra Chan sparked the offense. Chan led off the fifth inning with a double, which kicked off a two-run rally. In the following inning, Chan once again stepped up to the plate, this time blasting a solo homer to score Stanford’s fifth and final run of the game.

Stanford finished the sweep on Sunday with its most complete offensive performance of the weekend. Senior outfielder Emily Jones opened the scoring in the first inning with a solo home run to right center field, her first long ball of the season. The Cardinal poured in another three runs in the second inning as they never looked back in the 9-2 win. To no one’s surprise, Prystajko again closed things out in relief, striking out eight Panthers in three dominant innings. 

Prystajko was the star of the series, and by the end of the weekend, she had struck out 24 batters and walked none in 9.2 no-hit innings of relief. Prystajko’s weekend performance earned her the title of ACC Pitcher of the Week.

Stanford will seek to carry their momentum into a three-game home series against Notre Dame (9-15, 0-3 ACC) this weekend. The series starts on Friday night at 8 p.m.

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