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Stanford stuns No. 1 Texas in Tucson

Screenshot 2024-07-31 at 7.46.34 PMby:Brady Vernon•02/21/25•

BradyVernon

Screenshot 2025-02-21 at 2.46.21 PM
Courtesy of Stanford Athletics

One of the biggest questions coming into the weekend was how real is the Stanford offense. The Cardinal certainly proved themselves on Friday. Stanford beat top-ranked Texas 9-5, handing the Longhorns their first loss of the season.

Cardinal found success against multiple Texas pitchers. Freshman Joie Economides capped a 10-pitch at-bat with a three-run blast off of Citlaly Gutierrez that ended up being the nail in the coffin. Allie Clements was the game’s early star, hitting a pair of two-run home runs against Cambria Salmon and Teagan Kavan. Clements has three home runs this weekend in Tucson, matching her career total coming into the season.

The most impressive part of Stanford’s win was that the Cardinal ate a punch and responded against Kavan. After the Longhorns tied the game in the fifth, Stanford’s offense came right back out. A pair of walks and a single loaded the bases for River Mahler. The shortstop, who ended the game with three hits, delivered a go-ahead two-run single.

Stanford’s 1-4 hitters; Clements, Mahler, Taryn Kern and Emily Jones combined to go 8-for-16 with six RBIs.

Alyssa Houston battled through her outing. While the box score isn’t the prettiest, it helps when the offense comes with that much run support. The sophomore relieved Zoe Prystajko in the first. Houston stranded the bases loaded by striking out Katie Cimusz to keep the game tied at two.

The Longhorns scored a run in the seventh and put two more runners in scoring position before Houston closed out the victory. Houston ended the contest going 6.1 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and striking out seven batters. The pitching staff has also shown life between Houston, Prystajko and Kylie Chung.

Texas will try to bounce back with Colorado State, UC Davis and a ranked matchup with Arizona this weekend. Stanford will continue to build its case to be ranked as they face the Wildcats again on Sunday after losing on Thursday.

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