Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
Stanford (13-26, 0-15 Pac-12)
California (25-18-1, 6-7-1 Pac-12)
Fri. • 7 p.m. | Sat. • 7 p.m. | Sun. • 7 p.m.
Television • Pac-12 Bay Area
Live Statistics • Via GoStanford.com
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STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford returns home this weekend for a three-game series against Bay Area rival California.
The matchup begins Friday night at 7 p.m. (PT) and is the third annual Bacon Night, with a variety of concession items served with bacon. The series continues Saturday at 7 p.m. and concludes Sunday at 7 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on Pac-12 Bay Area.
Stanford is coming off a tough weekend at Utah, losing all three decisions to the Utes. The Cardinal dropped a doubleheader on Friday and fell in the finale on Sunday.
Jessica Plaza paced the Cardinal offensively, going 4-for-7 (.571) with two doubles, an RBI and a .857 slugging percentage over three games at Utah. Lauren Wegner hit her first home run of the season in game two of the series, a three-run shot to left field.
THE CALIFORNIA SERIES
• Stanford is 28-42 all-time against California and went 0-3 last season. The Cardinal dropped a pair of heartbreakers in the first two meetings against the Golden Bears a year ago, surrendering seventh-inning leads in each game for a pair of walk-off victories for California.
A TREE AMONG BEARS
• Carolyn Lee's family has numerous ties to Cal. Her dad went to Cal and is a huge fan, and both of her older sisters played softball at Cal.
• Lee has provided quality starts for the Cardinal throughout the season and consistently positions Stanford within striking distance for victories.
• Lee made her Pac-12 debut at No. 4/7 Oregon and pitched well, holding the Ducks to five earned runs in 10.0 innings with six strikeouts.
Carolyn Lee discusses her decision to join Stanford, despite her family's ties to Cal.
MENDOZA NAMED ALL-CENTURY
• Jessica Mendoza ('02) is one of 30 softball players selected to the All-Century Team. She is one of the most accomplished Stanford softball players in program history and has had an impact on sports beyond the softball field. Mendoza was a four-time All-American at Stanford, a starting outfielder for the U.S. National Team from 2004-10 and won Olympic medals in 2004 (gold) and 2008 (silver).
• Mendoza has paved new paths for women in sports broadcasting, becoming the first female broadcaster in the booth for ESPN's College World Series, the first female analyst for an MLB game on ESPN and the first female analyst for Sunday Night Baseball. She also became the first female analyst in MLB Postseason history when she broadcasted the 2015 American League Wild Card Game. Mendoza moved into a full-time role on Sunday Night Baseball in 2016.
BONSTROM EXCELS ON FIELD AND IN CLASSROOM
• Kayla Bonstrom (international relations), a 2015 NFCA All-America Second Team selection, has played in 206 of a possible 208 games throughout her career – making 204 starts. She is second among Cardinal players in 2016 with a .284 batting average with 19 RBIs, 10 doubles, two home runs, two triples, 21 runs, 13 walks and a .457 slugging percentage.
• Bonstrom missed Stanford's midweek game against Pacific (April 6) because she was presenting her senior thesis at the United States Military Academy Combating Terrorism Center at West Point conference on terrorism, insurgency and asymmetric conflicts.
• Bonstrom has exceled in the classroom and was a 2015 Capital One Academic Second Team All-American and All-District Softball Team District 8 selection. She was selected to the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) Interschool Honors Program in International Security Studies during her junior year to develop a senior thesis with the federal government related to national security. She's interested in working in national security upon graduation.
Kayla Bonstrom discussed her senior thesis with the Pac-12 Network.
SORENSON CONTINUES STRONG PLAY
• Kylie Sorenson had a quality start to the season and has continued playing well in conference play. She leads Stanford with a .339 batting average with 25 RBIs, eight home runs, five doubles, 26 runs, 20 walks and a .598 slugging percentage. Sorenson leads Stanford with a .324 batting average in conference play. She has also contributed multiple highlight-worthy plays at shortstop.
• Sorenson missed last weekend's series at Utah due to an arm injury sustained during the series finale against Arizona (April 17).
NOLL RETURNS
• Junior centerfielder Bessie Noll had a hot start to the season come to a halt when she was hit by a pitch March 5 and sidelined by the injury. She returned to the field in center field April 6 against Pacific and returned to the batting lineup April 16 against Arizona.
• Noll led Stanford in batting average (.404), home runs (6), doubles (7), runs (18), walks (13), slugging percentage (.885) and on-base percentage (.536) through the first 18 games prior to her injury.
Bessie Noll returned to the battling lineup April 16.
STABILITY BEHIND THE PLATE
• Four-year starting catcher Jessica Plaza has had quality senior campaign. She is hitting .269 batting average, producing 13 RBIs, eight doubles, a triple, 18 runs and 13 walks. She nearly earned a walk-off win for the Cardinal in the third game against Oregon State (April 3) when she hit an RBI-triple off the top of the right field wall – about six inches from clearing the fence – in the bottom of the seventh inning. Her hit scored a run and sent the game to extra innings, tied 2-2.
• 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.