May 17, 2008

Penna pitches Stanford to an NCAA regional win

Junior sets school record for wins in a season

FROM DAILY NEWS DISPATCHES

Junior pitcher Missy Penna mowed down 14 batters, junior Maddy Coon hit a first-inning home run to inspire the Stanford offense, and the 12th-seeded Cardinal softball team walked away with a 4-0 win Friday afternoon in its first game of the NCAA Regional in Amherst, Mass.

The Cardinal improved to 47-12, while Penna moved to 35-10. Lehigh fell to 35-16-1.

Penna was on fire from the start, earning eight of her 14 K's the first time through the order. After allowing an infield hit to lead off the game, Penna struck out eight Lehigh batters in a row and retired nine of them. She finished the game with a four-hit shutout and only allowed one ball to leave the infield. The shutout was her 13th of the season and the win was her 35th, giving her sole possession of the school's single-season win record.

On the offensive side, center fielder Alissa Haber went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple to help Stanford outhit Lehigh 8-4.

After Lehigh recorded two quick outs, Coon drilled a pitch just left of the 220-foot mark in center field. The blast was her ninth of the year, second on the Cardinal squad.

In the third inning, Haber hit her second triple in as many games down the left-field line. Fellow sophomore Shannon Koplitz took advantage of the RBI opportunity, and dropped a single into left field that allowed Haber to score easily.

Stanford rallied to score two more runs in the sixth. Catcher Rosey Neill pounded a double to the gap in right-center field, and Michelle Smith followed with a bunt single that moved pinch runner Michelle Schroeder to third. With one out, freshman designated player Melisa Koutz cracked a clutch RBI single to right field. Two batters later, with pinch runners Jess Zutz and Autumn Albers in scoring position, senior Anna Beardman hit a bloop single to left-center that allowed Zutz to score the first run of her collegiate career.

Stanford will take on the UMass-Princeton winner in a game set for noon today in Amherst.