It was literally an even finish between the No. 16 Stanford women’s softball team and its Arizona rivals this past weekend. Faring better than in its previous match-ups, the Cardinal (31-14, 6-8 Pacific-10 Conference) lost a tight 2-0 contest to No. 7 Arizona State on Friday before coming from behind to beat No. 4 Arizona 3-2 on Saturday. A 0-0 stalemate against Arizona yesterday was called after 12 innings due to the Wildcats’ travel schedule.

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Alvin Chow

Cardinal second baseman Tricia Aggabao runs the bases during yesterday’s 0-0 tie with Arizona. On Saturday, the Cardinal upset the No. 4 Wildcats, 3-2.

Stanford left 12 runners on base against Arizona pitcher Taryne Mowatt (3 hits, 13 strikeouts), while sophomore Cardinal pitcher Missy Penna struck out 11 in 12 shutout innings of the epic pitcher’s duel.

Arizona’s best scoring change in regulation came in the fourth inning. Laine Roth advanced to third on a throwing error by Penna, but the squeeze bunt on the next at-bat was fielded cleanly by Penna, who flipped to freshman Rosey Neill to tag Roth out at home.

Stanford looked in position to win when junior Tricia Aggabao was walked in the bottom of the seventh with the team’s leading hitter, freshman Alissa Haber, coming up. But since Aggabao was caught stealing at second, the game went to extra innings. Senior Jackie Rinehart was sacrificed to second base for the Cardinal in the eighth, but was stranded when the next two Cardinal batters flied out. Pinch runner Anna Beardman got to third base in the bottom of the ninth, but a groundout ended the scoring opporunity.

The most suspenseful moment came in the top of the 10th when Arizona’s Chelsie Mesa stroked a ball down the right-field line with the speedy Caitlin Lowe on first. Umpires ruled that Lowe left the base early, putting her out and ending another opportunity. And in the 11th and 12th innings, Penna got out of two-on jams.

After three and a half hours of play, coaches agreed to end it; Arizona was flying out of the Bay Area soon after. Whether the game would be ruled a tie in the win-loss records was undetermined at press time.

Saturday’s victory was Stanford’s first win over Arizona (35-10, 11-3 Pac-10) since 2004, and only the fifth in program history. Junior right-hander Becky McCullough (9-7) started for the Cardinal and performed superbly, retiring the first seven batters she faced and not allowing a runner past second base in the first four innings.

At the same time, Mowatt was working on a no-hitter through four, and it was McCullough who cracked first in the top half of the fifth inning. The Wildcats hit back-to-back singles to start the inning, and then advanced runners to second and third on a sacrifice bunt. A sacrifice fly and a single later, Arizona led 2-0 against a Stanford offense that had only one walk to show for its troubles.

The Cardinal got to Mowatt in the next inning. Stanford loaded the bases with one out, thanks to a pair of walks and a single to center field by senior shortstop Lindsay Key. With Aggabao up to bat, junior Erin Howe came home on a wild pitch before Aggabao belted a foul ball that was just feet from a home run. On the next pitch, Aggabo ripped a two-RBI single to right field, giving Stanford a 3-2 lead. After hitting the first batter of the sixth inning, McCullough sent the next six hitters back to the dugout to secure the upset win.

Against Arizona State (45-13, 9-6 Pac-10) on Friday, Penna (22-7) pitched well for the Cardinal, but the line-up simply could not stop Sun Devils phenom Katie Burkhart. The junior, who leads the Pac-10 in virtually every pitching category, struck out four and walked none over seven shutout innings in the 2-0 Stanford loss.

Penna gave up the only two runs of the game in the top of the sixth inning. ASU led off the frame with an infield single, and Penna got one out on a grounder before hitting the next batter. That brought up the Sun Devils’ Bianca Cruz, who drove in her league-leading 63rd and 64th runs of the year with a single to right. Penna struck out the next two batters, but the damage was done.

A bunt single by Aggabao and a walk to Haber in the next half inning preceded a minor controversy. Freshman Shannon Koplitz lifted a hit to shallow left center; Haber advanced past second, but was tagged out trying to get back to the bag. The umpires ruled she was out before Aggabao crossed the plate, taking the run off the scoreboard. Stanford head coach John Rittman engaged in a heated and lengthy discussion with the officials, but was not ejected from the game. The baserunning miscue would be a harbinger of questionable Cardinal baserunning all weekend.