April 21, 2011
Final Stats
BERKELEY - After losing the first game of the 2010 stand at Stanford in 12 innings, the No. 12 California softball team got right to work in the top of the first en route to a 2-0 upset over No. 11/10 Stanford on Thursday afternoon. The Golden Bears scored in the bottom of the first and did not look back, adding on an extra run in the sixth courtesy Lindsey Ziegenhirt's sixth homer of the year.
With the win over the Cardinal, the Bears improve to 29-8 overall and 6-4 in the Pac-10 Conference while the Cardinal drops to 31-9 and 5-5 in the Pac-10.
Perhaps the different ingredient between the first game of the series this year and last is poise, for that was a common theme amongst the Bears.
"When I went up to bat, I was confident," noted Ashley Decker, who waited out an RBI walk. "I was ready for whatever pitch was coming, even if it was a strike. I'm just pleased I was able to contribute."
Teammate Ziegenhirt echoed those sentiments as well.
"My swings on deck felt really good so I was more confident in the batter's box," Ziegenhirt said of the minutes before her homer. "It takes me awhile to warm-up, I guess. Prior to the homer, I was struggling in my mind. In the third at-bat, I was just relaxed and swinging."
In the bottom of the first, Britt Vonk walked and moved to second when Jace Williams reached when catcher Kelsey Gerhart interfered. Frani Echavarria singled to left to load the bases with two outs for Ashley Decker. With a calm demeanor, the freshman designated player earned a walk to plate Vonk.
In the bottom of the sixth, Ziegenhirt sent the first pitch flying for her sixth homer of the year, tagging the portables in left. Her hit gave the Bears their final 2-0 lead.
Jolene Henderson had the shutout for the Bears, striking out five and giving up just five hits while walking no one. With her performance, Henderson lent further proof to why she is the reigning NFCA Player of the Week and Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week.
"I felt alright out there," the ever-modest NFCA Henderson said. "I was glad I didn't give up any walks. Thankfully, I had stellar defense behind me once again. My teammates and staying calm out there really helped me get out of the jams when Stanford had runners at third."
Tegan Gerthart took the loss, falling to 17-7 on the year. The Cardinal got five hits and left six runners stranded.
Stanford seeks revenge in the middle match, which gets underway at 3 p.m. on Friday at Levine-Fricke Field. Youth are free and all guests will be able to play softball bingo.
