What’s one thing worse than losing? Try a stomach flu.

Stanford softball suffered through both in a weekend to forget.

First came the flu, which afflicted an estimated five members of the team on Friday and Saturday. Head coach John Rittman started some players despite the bug, but was forced to sideline others. He declined to give names.

Then came the losses. The squad posted just a 2-3 mark at the Worth Classic in Fullerton, Calif., dropping a 6-2 decision to Cal Poly, a 1-0 pitchers-duel to Cal State-Fullerton and an 11-3 shellacking to Northwestern. The wins were on Saturday, 2-1 over Texas Tech, and yesterday morning, 6-3 over Minnesota.

“We dealt with a little adversity this weekend,” Rittman said. “It was a little disappointing, but we just came out on the wrong end of a few games. Over the course of a long season, you’re going to have days like that.”

The Northwestern loss was most surprising. No. 9 Stanford (16-5) hadn’t been mercy-ruled this season, but the Wildcats did the trick with three runs in the sixth.

Junior infielder Michelle Smith gave Stanford the early lead with a two-run homer in the first, but Northwestern finished with 17 hits on the day, roughing up Cardinal junior pitcher Becky McCullough. The Wildcats scored seven runs in the first two innings, and struck out just once on the afternoon.

“We jumped out on Northwestern, but couldn’t hold them off,” Rittman said. “They’re a very good hitting team. It was the kind of game where it just snowballed on us.”

Stanford’s most exciting win came the game before, with Smith beating Texas Tech with a solo walk-off homer in the seventh. The Cardinal jumped to a 1-0 lead when Smith singled to left, scoring sophomore infielder Maddy Coon in the fourth. Texas Tech scratched out a tying run in the sixth with two singles sandwiching a steal.

Sophomore Missy Penna went the distance on the mound, yielding just four hits and one run, while striking out 12.

But the hero was Smith, who led Stanford with five hits, three homers and seven RBI on the weekend.

“She’s been in a lot of big games and come through in a lot of big games,” Rittman said. “It’s good to see her getting hot.”

Stanford’s other win came yesterday, as the Cardinal scored five in the first and notched a weekend-high 12 hits to easily dispatch of Minnesota. The Gophers scored two in the first against the starting Penna, and one in the fifth against McCullough, who replaced Penna just one out into the game and went the remaining six and two-thirds.

Stanford’s first eight batters reached base and every non-pitcher in the lineup recorded a hit in the victory.

The Cardinal could desperately have used that offense against Cal State-Fullerton on Friday. Titan pitcher Candice Baker no-hit and shut out the Cardinal — only five walks separated her from perfection — wasting a fine effort from McCullough.

Leadoff hitter Jessica Doucette singled and scored on a wild pitch for the Titans in the bottom of the first. It was all the offense they needed.

“We usually hit the ball well, so for us to go into that kind of drought is unusual,” Rittman said. “I think the kids started pressing and putting more pressure on themselves.”

The tournament started on a sour note, as Cal Poly upset the Cardinal, who had won their last 12, with three homers. Smith and freshman infielder Shannon Koplitz each hit solo home runs for Stanford in the loss.

For the Mustangs, Lisa Modglin homered on the game’s first pitch, while Sarah Iwata belted a two-run blast and Melissa Pura hit a solo shot in the fifth. Pura’s two-RBI double down the leftfield line in the seventh provided the final margin.

Penna struck out eight in the complete-game loss.

The Cardinal hosts the Stanford Classic next, starting this Friday.