Cardinal Drops Series Finale

Recap, photo courtesy of Stanford

Stanford falls to 1-2 in Pac-12 play
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah put up 13 runs and held Stanford scoreless through five innings to pick up the series win, Monday, at Dumke Family Stadium.

Freshman Maddy Dwyer took the loss in the circle for the Cardinal (20-10, 1-2 Pac-12), dropping to 11-6 on the season. Utah's Miranda Viramontes (3-8) earned the win for the Utes (17-12, 2-4 Pac-12), finishing with two strikeouts and five hits allowed.
Utah jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Third baseman Heather Bowen hit a three-run shot to left field before right fielder Hailey Hilburn hit a two-run homer to left centerfield.

Stanford had its chances early, stranding six runners through the first three innings. The Cardinal loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the third, but senior Arden Pettit hit a ball to Bowen, who tagged sophomore Kristina Inouye for the final out of the inning.

The Utes tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the third. Hilburn scorched a double to right centerfield, bringing home Bowen. She then scored on a wacky play in which designated player Katie Faulk hit a ball to Stanford's Whitney Burks, who threw out the runner at home. For some reason, Faulk had not run down to first until the out was made. She reached on a throwing error by Pettit, which allowed Hilburn to score.

Utah added six more in the fourth to put the run-rule into effect in the fifth as the Cardinal went down in order in the top half of the inning.

Stanford returns to The Farm to play host to No. 1 Washington for a three-game series, Thursday-Saturday, at Smith Family Stadium.