What could have been a perfect 11-0 start to the season for Stanford softball is gone, but in its place stands a still-admirable 9-2 record. With a five-team tournament on schedule for this weekend, the No. 8 Cardinal has five opportunities to be near-perfect again.

Stanford can improve its overall record at the FIU/Adidas Invitational in Miami, Fla., held Thursday through Sunday. The Card is set to face Florida International tonight at 7 p.m. and Texas State tomorrow at 3 p.m. Next is a Saturday doubleheader with Purdue in the morning and Syracuse in the afternoon. Finally, Stanford finishes the tourney on Sunday with a rematch against an earlier weekend opponent.

The Cardinal women are in a current seven-game win streak, with six victories coming from the last homestand. On the season, they boast a perfect 6-0 mark at home, with a 3-2 record on the road.

Could the squad have begun its season with an 11-0 record though? Close losses to No. 4 Northwestern and No. 17 Texas at the Kajikawa Classic in Phoenix blemished the near-perfect record, but head coach John Rittman does not believe perfection was possible in hindsight.

“Certainly we could have easily won the two games that we lost, but at the same time we won a couple that we very easily could have lost,” Rittman said. “Our team is playing pretty well right now. We’re improving, and this weekend will give us an opportunity to see a little different type of competition as far as our reach.”

The Card rebounded from its 3-2 start with a homestand sweep in which the team also emerged as tourney champions of the Stanford Invitational. Recent team success can be attributed to a balance of consistent hitting and pitching. The pitching squad is led by sophomore Missy Penna, who is 6-1 with a 1.25 ERA and 61 strikeouts. Penna is joined by junior Becky McCullough, who is 3-1 with a 2.21 ERA.

On the last homestand, the pitching tandem dominated opponents from inside the circle. Penna picked up four wins, including two shutouts, and allowed only three runs in 24.2 innings for a 0.33 ERA. McCullough collected two wins and two complete games giving up just one run.

“Penna and McCullough are both coming along really nicely,” Rittman said. “We are just looking for them to continue to work hard and improve, and they’re both getting stronger as the season progresses.”

The Stanford offense is doing its part as well, outscoring opponents 72-21 on the year. The charge is led by sophomore Maddy Coon and senior Jackie Rinehart, who are both on the Top-50 Watch List for Softball Collegiate Player of the Year honors.

Coon leads the team with 13 RBI, including a game-winning three-run bomb against Missouri on Sunday. Rinehart leads all Stanford starters with a .471 average and is second on the team with 14 hits, eight of them staying in the infield.

The youth element on the squad is also making its presence felt. Freshman Rosey Neill drove in eight runs last weekend. Joining Neill is freshman Alissa Haber, who is hitting .429 with four doubles on the season.

Despite all the team’s success, Rittman anticipates this tournament as “a good weekend to try to improve on some things.”

“The first thing we have to do is eliminate our mistakes,” Rittman said. “We’ve made some base-running mistakes and some defensive errors. So we need to clean up our defense and just try to continue to pitch well and get timely hitting. If we do those things, we’ll be successful.

“This is the third weekend of play for everyone,” Rittman added. “We’re playing a team out of the Big-10 in Purdue that has already played in a couple tournaments; Florida International is always competitive; Texas State swings the bat well, and has a pretty good team; and Syracuse has already faced us in Phoenix.”

The Card’s first opponent will be Florida International, who finished 2006 with a 30-28 record. The Panthers return 10 letter-winners, including their top hitter, senior catcher Tabitha Embry. They are, however, currently mired in a dismal losing streak to begin their season, dropping their first 10 matches.

Texas State had had a 34-22 record last season. Bobcat senior pitcher Sarah Lancour collected 137 strikeouts with a 2.24 ERA in 2006. Although they are currently at 4-6, the Bobcats have already faced three top-10 opponents.

The Card battle Purdue (2-8) on Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader. Last year, the Boilermakers finished with an even 30-30. This season, their offense is led by junior Ashley Hall with a .353 average and 12 hits. Sophomore Kelly Miller trails Hall with a .333 average and freshman Jenna Alexander boasts seven RBI.

In the afternoon, Stanford completes the doubleheader with a match-up against Syracuse (0-5). The Orange ended last season with a 36-21 record, finishing fourth in the Big East. Syracuse also played at the Kajikawa Classic, but came out with a 0-5 record.

Although perfection is out of reach, the Cardinal can make noise and help its case for a College World Series berth with a strong showing this weekend.