2 weeks Ago
History has been made. Despite taking home the 10-8 loss to Cal and being unable to complete the series sweep, Stanford softball accomplished the unthinkable on Saturday, breaking the single-game NCAA softball attendance record with 13,207 fans in attendance during the Big Swing event over the weekend. In an event that was meant to pack Stanford Stadium in anticipation of a rivalry game and being arguably the most anticipated Stanford sporting event in recent history, the fans showed out despite the Cardinal losing.
The number of fans not only broke the overall single-game attendance record for a college softball game, which was previously 12,566 that was set during the Women's College World Series on May 30, 2024, but it also broke the previous regular season record of 9,259 that was set earlier this season. The game itself proved to be a tough one for Stanford (32-9, 11-7 ACC). After Cal (30-16, 7-11 ACC) scored five runs right out of the gate, three of which came via home runs, the Cardinal found themselves down 5-0 heading into the bottom half of the first inning.
Cal's first home run, a solo shot from right fielder Elon Butler, came on the very first pitch of the game. The Golden Bears also scored their five runs on only five hits. But the Cardinal started to chip away at the lead the first chance they got, with third baseman Jade Berry hitting a three-run home run with River Mahler and Emily Jones standing on base, making it a 5-3 game in the bottom of the first inning.
That was Berry's 11th homer of the season, and her fifth in the last seven games that the Cardinal have played. However, Cal quickly pulled ahead even further in the second inning when a three-run homer put the Golden Bears ahead 7-3. However, Kyra Chan then helped Stanford cut the lead once more in the bottom of the third, when she hit a three-run home run, also extending her hit streak to 19 games in the process.
In the fourth inning, the Golden Bears scored three more runs to make it 10-8 but the Cardinal kept making it a dogfight, with Joie Economides coming up big with a solo home run in the fifth inning to give a little bit of momentum back to Stanford. The next inning, with left fielder Caelan Koch standing on third base, second baseman Taryn Kern hit a sac-fly to center field to drive Koch in, but unfortunately, that was all the Cardinal were able to muster the rest of the way as they were unable to complete the comeback. Earning the loss for Stanford was Zoe Prystajko, who allowed five runs on five hits while striking out three in one inning of work.
She drops to 10-4 on the season. The other pitchers for Stanford in the game were Alyssa Houston (4.0 innings, two hits, three runs, one earned run, five walks, three strikeouts) and Kylie Chung (2.
0 innings, one hit, two runs, two earned runs, one walk, one strikeout). With Berry, Chan and Economides all homering, the Cardinal continue their power hitting as they now have 82 home runs on the season, which is second in the ACC and eighth overall in the nation. Despite taking the loss in the series finale, the Cardinal continue to put together a strong season with another series win, and will look to carry that momentum over to their next game when they take on Sacramento State on the road on Tuesday.
After that game, the Cardinal will shift focus onto a big Friday-Sunday home series against Virginia..
