The Stanford softball team barely pulled together a 4-3 win over San Diego State on Saturday, but the rest of the weekend was smooth sailing for the No. 12 Cardinal in the Stanford Classic.

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Alvin Chow

Junior pitcher Becky McCullough winds it up against Sacramento State last Friday. McCullough helped the Cardinal to an 8-0 shutout of the Hornets before throwing a one-hitter against Loyola-Chicago, on the way to a Stanford Classic title.

Stanford outscored its opponents 22-5, and its pitching staff notched a pair of one-hitters as the Cardinal extended its winning streak to six and improved to 21-5 on the season.

A 6-2 win over UC-Santa Barbara opened the tournament, and the Cardinal shut out Sacramento State 8-0 in five innings on Friday afternoon. After the tough victory over San Diego State, Stanford recorded back-to-back 2-0 wins against Loyola-Chicago and UCSB. Junior hurler Becky McCullough threw a one-hitter against the Ramblers, and sophomore Missy Penna matched the feat in the championship win over the Gauchos.

Stanford scored four runs in the bottom of the first on Friday, going up for good on the Gauchos. Freshman catcher Rosey Neill and Penna had back-to-back RBI singles, with Penna scoring two. Freshman designated player Shannon Koplitz scored Penna for the 4-0 lead. Senior leftfielder Jackie Rinehart notched an RBI in the second and Penna hit a solo homer in the third for the Cardinal’s final score. UCSB scored twice in the sixth, but the Stanford lead held.

Neill again put the Cardinal on the board in the second game of the day with a second-inning leadoff homer. Sophomore third baseman Maddy Coon notched an RBI double and Neill got her second RBI of the game to put Stanford up 3-0 after three innings. Senior shortstop Lindsay Key, Koplitz and Neill each brought in a run in the fourth; Key and freshman centerfielder Alissa Haber gave the Cardinal its final margin in the fifth. With an eight-run lead after five innings, the Cardinal won by the run rule.

Stanford had its closest call of the weekend Saturday morning with the tenacious Aztecs. Smith put Stanford ahead in the first inning with a two-RBI double, but SDSU cut the lead to one with a run on a fielder’s choice in the second. Stanford scored again in the third on Coon’s solo homer, but the Aztecs tied the game at three in the fifth inning. Smith put the Cardinal up for good in the bottom of the inning, and Penna struck out three in a row in the bottom of the seventh to preserve the win.

The Cardinal could convert only two of its nine hits into runs against Loyola, but that was enough thanks to McCullough’s one-hitter in the circle. Junior rightfielder Anna Beardman hit an RBI single in the fourth, and Rinehart came home on a wild pitch in the sixth for the final 2-0 score.

Stanford shut out the Gauchos in the tournament championship game Sunday afternoon with Penna throwing a one-hitter of her own. Smith hit a two-run homer off the leftfield foul pole in the first inning and neither team would score again, as the Cardinal remained undefeated at home with its 10th win of the season at Smith Family Stadium.

Nine players scored runs and eight had RBI on the weekend, led by Coon with four scores and Smith with six batted in. Coon and Rinehart are tied with a team-leading 21 runs on the season and Smith’s five homers are a team high.

Penna improved to 14-2 with three wins and 27 strikeouts on the weekend. McCullough’s pair of shutout victories brings her season record to 7-3.

The Cardinal will take the next two weeks off for Dead Week and final exams before hosting the Stanford Invitational II on Mar. 24-25. Stanford will host Long Beach State, Ohio, Portland State and UC-Davis in the tournament before playing a Tuesday night doubleheader with Fresno State. The Cardinal begins Pacific-10 Conference play at No. 17 Oregon State on Mar. 30.