Stanford (11-8)
NV/RV Cal Poly (14-5)
No. 11/11 Florida State (18-3)
NV/RV Tulsa (15-4)
Tournament Central
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Game times for the Louisville Slugger Classic were adjusted on Thursday, March 10, due to projected weather delays. For future schedule updates, follow @StanfordSBall on Twitter.
STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford returns home this weekend for its final regular season tournament of the year when it plays host to three teams as part of the Louisville Slugger Classic.
The Cardinal (11-8) takes on Cal Poly (14-5), No. 11/11 Florida State (18-3) and Tulsa (15-4). It will be the second meeting this season against the Mustangs and first against the Seminoles and Golden Hurricane.
Stanford is coming off a 4-1 weekend at the Malihini Aloha Tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii, picking up two wins against Hawai’i and Coastal Carolina. The Cardinal dropped its first game of the tournament before reeling off four straight wins. Stanford’s offense exploded for 50 runs, 41 hits, 12 home runs and nine doubles over five games on the weekend.
Bonstrom paced Stanford offensively on the weekend, hitting .412 (7-for-17) with six RBIs, four doubles, a home run and seven runs. Kylie Sorenson and Whitney Burks also had big weekends at the plate. Sorenson hit .389 (7-for-18) with three home runs, while Burks hit .385 (5-for-13) with a double and a home run.
Lauren Frost provided plenty of power for the Cardinal with three home runs and a 1.083 slugging percentage on the weekend.
Carolyn Lee went 3-0 in the circle to improve her record to 6-4 on the year, while Haley Snyder (5-5) picked up a victory against Hawai’i. Lee limited opponents to 15 runs on 26 hits and eight walks, and racked up 16 strikeouts.
Carolyn Lee has thrown eight complete games this season. (Photo by Shirley Pefley)
PICKING UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
- Kayla Bonstrom (international relations), a 2015 NFCA All-America Second Team selection, picked up where she left off last season and is hitting .365 with 15 RBIs, seven doubles, two home runs, a triple, 18 runs, six walks and a .603 slugging percentage.
- Bonstrom was named to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top-50 Watch List earlier this season. She was also selected as a Senior CLASS Award Top-30 finalist.
- Bonstrom was a force at the plate and led Stanford in every major offensive category throughout the 2015 season. She was named a NFCA Second Team All-American, NFCA All-West Region First Team at first base, All-Pac-12 First Team and a Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honorable mention.
SORENSON STARTS STRONG
- Kylie Sorenson has had a quality start to the season and is hitting .338 with 20 RBIs, five home runs, two doubles, 18 runs, 12 walks and a .600 slugging percentage.
- Sorenson had an excellent weekend in Hawaii, going 7-for-18 (.389) with nine RBIs, three home runs, six runs, three walks a double and a .944 slugging percentage over five games.
Kylie Sorenson is second on the team with five home runs. (Photo by Shirley Pefley)
MOLINA SWINGS A BIG BAT
- Victoria Molina has homered in three-of-four tournaments this season, including this past weekend at Hawaii. Of her 12 hits this season, four have been home runs.
- Molina led Stanford offensively at the Nike Invitational, going 5-for-13 (.385) with five RBIs, a home run, a double, a run and a .692 slugging percentage. She hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning against St. Mary’s (Feb. 21) to erase a 4-1 deficit and help send the game to extra innings.
STABILITY BEHIND THE PLATE
- Four-year starting catcher Jessica Plaza has had a strong start to her senior campaign. She is third on the team with a .340 batting average, producing eight RBIs, six doubles, 13 runs and 10 walks.
- Defensively, Plaza calls her own games and has done well to help guide a young pitching staff. She earned Pac-12 All-Defense recognition a year ago after registering a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage for the second consecutive season. Plaza is one of two Stanford players all-time to record a perfect fielding percentage.
Jessica Plaza has helped guide a young pitching staff to an 11-8 record. (Photo by Karen Ambrose Hickey)
FROST PROVIDES BIG BLASTS
- Freshman Lauren Frost has found her groove at the plate and provided power at the plate in the final three games in Hawaii. Frost came off the bench with Stanford holding a one-run lead against Coastal Carolina and hit a pinch-hit two-out grand slam to help the Cardinal secure the victory.
- Frost hit a two-run home run in the following game against Hawai’i and then a three-run shot in the weekend finale against Coastal Carolina.
