April 19, 2008

Box Score

Stanford - California dropped a second straight decision to the Stanford Cardinal by a score of 5-1 on Saturday afternoon at Smith Family Stadium.

Cal (35-18, 3-8 Pac-10) returns home to the friendly confines of Levine-Fricke Field to wrap up its three-game series with the Cardinal (40-7, 6-5 Pac-10) on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

The Bears nearly broke a scoreless tie in the top of the second inning with runners on the corners (Bernice Masaniai and Julie Meyer) after a Stanford fielding error and base hit. With two outs, Heather Camara struck the Missy Penna offering up the middle, but Stanford shortstop Maddy Coon lunged for the ball and made the catch over second base to prevent Cal from scoring.

Cal got its lone run in the third stanza when Valerie Arioto sprinted towards home plate on a wild pitch by Penna. The Bears threatened to put more runs on the board, but Penna recorded a strikeout to end the inning with two Cal runners left on base.

Stanford was swift to respond in the bottom half of the third and got a key hit from Rosey Neill when her single to left center field plated two runners, giving Stanford a 2-1 lead.

The Cardinal added on another run in the fifth inning after a Michelle Smith drew a bases loaded walk, allowing Coon to score.

Sophomore Brittany LaRosa suffered the loss in the circle, allowing three earned on four hits with four strikeouts.