STANFORD, Calif. --
Samantha Parish drove home sister
Alexis Parish in the sixth inning with the go-ahead run, and
Marissa Bertuccio threw a complete game, to lead the Hornets to a 3-2 win over ninth-ranked Stanford in the first game of a doubleheader at Smith Family Stadium.
The Cardinal bounced back to win the nightcap by a 6-0 score. But the story of the day was the Hornets' first win over a top 10 ranked opponent since knocking off No. 1 UCLA, 2-1, on Feb. 17, 2000. The win was also the program's first over a ranked opponent since winning at 24th-ranked Stanford, 5-2, during the 2019 season.
The Hornets, who have won eight of their last 10 games, moved their record to 16-8. The loss in the first game snapped Stanford's 13-game winning streak, and the Cardinal lost for the first time all season at home (8-1). The Cardinal moved their overall record to 19-5.
Bertuccio (8-2, 1.88 ERA) was brilliant in the circle yet again, allowing Stanford just six hits and two runs with four strikeouts over seven innings. The right-hander threw just 92 pitches and struck out the last two batters to finish off her eighth complete game of the season.
Perhaps the biggest play of the game came for the Hornets on defense. With the score tied at 2-2, Stanford had runners at first and second with two outs in the fifth inning. Cardinal No. 3 hitter Ava Gall crushed a ball to deep left field that Hornet outfielder
Alexis Parish made a leaping grab to save what would have been a sure two runs and Stanford lead.
Speaking of Parish, she was 3-for-3 with a run and two RBIs. She combined with her sister, Samantha (2x2, RBI) go 5-for-5 and account for all three of the Hornet RBIs. The two came up huge in the sixth inning. With the score tied at 2-2, Alexis led off the inning with a single, and she eventually took second on a wild pitch. Samantha then lined a shot that bounced off the third base bag into left field, allowing Alexis to score from second and slide home just ahead of the Cardinal throw.
Making Samantha's hit even sweeter is it came off NiJaree Canady, who is one of the best pitchers in the nation and leads the country with 131 strikeouts.
That run gave the Hornets a 3-2 lead, and Bertuccio allowed just one hit the final two innings to finish off the victory. The Parish sisters combined for five of the Hornets' seven hits, and
Haley Hanson and
Gwen Ludwig each had a hit and run scored. The Hornets pushed across two runs in the first inning after Hanson and Ludwig led off the game with singles. A hit batter to
Lewa Day loaded the bases, and Alexis Paris had a huge two-out knock to score both Ludwig and Hanson.
Stanford would get two runs back in the second to tie, but would not score again.
In the second game, Stanford's Regan Krause held the Hornets to just two hits (Hanson and
Andrea Lira) and no runs over seven innings. The Hornets did not have a hit until Hanson's knock with two outs in the sixth. Lira added her single with one out in the seventh.
Stanford scored three times in both the first and third innings, highlighted by a three-run blast from Emily Jones in the third.
Caroline Evans was brilliant in relief for the Hornets, allowing just two hits and no runs with three strikeouts in 3.2 innings.
Sacramento State will play four times in Stockton on Friday-Saturday. The Hornets will play both days at the same times against Iowa at 2:15 p.m. and Pacific at 4:30 p.m.
