No. 20 Stanford pulled off a significant upset Friday, knocking off top-ranked Texas 9-5 on the Hillenbrand Invitational. That is Texas’ (11-1) first lack of the season.
A dominant reduction efficiency from Alyssa Houston was the distinction maker.
Allie Clements fueled the Cardinal’s offense with two house runs, together with a first-inning blast that set the tone early. She went deep once more within the third, marking three straight at-bats with a homer, courting again to the earlier sport. Stanford held a 4-2 lead earlier than Texas fought again, tying the sport at 4-4 within the fifth with a triple and an RBI double.
DOWN GOES NO. 1 👀#NCAASoftball x 🎥 @FloCollegeSB / @StanfordSball pic.twitter.com/NEuWj7R8vs
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) February 21, 2025
The Cardinal responded instantly within the sixth. With the bases loaded, River Mahler delivered a clutch two-run single to regain the lead. Moments later, freshman Joie Economides crushed a three-run homer to left, breaking the sport open at 9-4.
Houston, who entered within the first inning, steadied Stanford in reduction. She pitched 6.1 innings, permitting three runs on seven hits whereas placing out a career-high seven batters. The Longhorns threatened within the seventh, loading the bases, however Houston labored out of the jam to safe the upset.
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The Longhorns struggled with runners in scoring place, whereas Stanford made probably the most of their probabilities, ending with 5 two-out RBIs.
The win marks Stanford’s third victory over a top-two opponent since final season. The Cardinal (11-1) and Longhorns proceed event play towards Colorado State.
