STANFORD, Calif. – Facing off against a non-conference opponent for the final time this season, the Pacific softball team travels to take on nationally-ranked Stanford on Wednesday, April 27 at Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium.
This past weekend at Loyola Marymount,
Carly Lucchetti recorded two hits as she continues to lead the team with a .349 batting average. Through 42 games this season, Lucchetti's offensive production ranks high within the West Coast Conference, sitting in fourth place in both hits and doubles while tying her career-high in triples with three for the 11-win Tigers. The senior from Linden, Calif., continues to add to her successful season as she has recorded career-highs in hits and RBI, while scoring 20 of the Tigers' 130 runs this season.
Amiyah Aponte continues to lead the Tigers' pitching staff in earned-run average, posting a 3.17 ERA while recording a career-high 32 strikeouts in 70.2 innings pitched. The sophomore from Riverside, Calif., is tied with
Vanessa Strong in the win column, posting four wins in the circle this season and has thrown three competed games this season.
Coming off a tough weekend against first-place Loyola Marymount, the Tigers look to bounce back against a Cardinal team that sits in fourth place in the Pac-12 standings with an overall record of 31-13. The Cardinal have had a successful campaign so far, surpassing 30 wins for the second-straight season and have tallied six wins over USA Today/NFCA Division I Top-25 teams including earning series wins over No. 2/3 UCLA and No. 10/13 Arizona State. With the two wins over the Sun Devils this past weekend, the Cardinal have entered the national rankings for the third time this season, sitting at No. 24, their highest ranking since being slotted at No. 21 during the final week of the 2012 season.
Taylor Gindlesperger has led the Stanford offense this season, tallying a team-high .370 batting average while averaging nearly two hits per game and swiping nine bases in 12 attempts.
Emily Young and Sydnee Huff also have accumulated batting averages over .300 as Young is second on the team with a .336 batting average while Huff has tallied 41 hits in 129 at-bats for a .318 batting average.
Wednesday's contest will be the 54th meeting between the two programs with Stanford holding a 32-21 advantage over Pacific in the all-time series. The Tigers had early successful over the Cardinal, earning the first 14 wins dating back to the start of the 1982 season. During the Tigers' 14 game winning streak from April 13, 1982, until February 13, 1999, the team outscored the Cardinal 87-7. The Cardinal, however, have had recent success over the Tigers, winning eight of the last nine contests, including the most recent matchup during the 2020 season.
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