It was a roller-coaster kind of year for Stanford softball in 2007.

The squad put together both seven- and 12-game winning streaks on its way to a 35-21-1 overall record and a No. 18 final ranking. But the Cardinal also stalled for a few weeks during the Pacific-10 Conference season, dropping the team into the bottom half of the standings.

And yet, Stanford recovered at the end to finish on a high note. After losing the first game of the NCAA Regionals to Fresno State, the Cardinal fought back to eliminate the Bulldogs before succumbing to LSU, 11-5, in a high-octane affair the next day.

“There were a lot of highs and lows this year,” head coach John Rittman said. “It was a year where we had some struggles in the Pac-10, but it prepared us for a run in the postseason.”

The Cardinal had been on a high arc heading into the conference season. The team came out of its out-of-conference schedule with an impressive 24-6 record, including five wins in five games at the Adidas Invitational in Miami, Fla. Stanford even took two of three from the Oregon schools in the first weekend of the Pac-10 season.

Things started to unravel a little soon after, as California took two of three from the Cardinal, followed by three road losses at the hands of Arizona and Arizona State. The Cardinal posted back-to-back wins in the conference only once more after that opening weekend, as the team slid from the top half of the standings into the sixth spot, where it finished the season.

The entire conference schedule was by no means a failure, though. The team’s potential shined through in April’s three-game set against Arizona and ASU, the top two teams in the Pac-10.

After dropping the weekend opener to Arizona State, 4-1, the Cardinal got up off the mat to down then-No. 4 Arizona 3-2 the next afternoon. That victory was followed by perhaps the gutsiest performance of the year, as sophomore ace Missy Penna dueled Arizona’s pitcher to a 12-inning, 0-0 tie.

Rittman identified those games as one of the most important points of the year for his team.

“The Arizona weekend was definitely a good weekend for us,” Rittman said. “I like the way we battled at home.”

That proved to be a recurring theme for the Cardinal, as the team battled back from a first-game loss at home in the regional less than a month later.

“After losing the first game, to fight back and get to the regional championship is a reflection of how much character this team had,” Rittman said.

That character was coming from all parts of the squad this spring, especially the freshmen. Rittman acknowledged that new players are wild cards, but he was enthused with the performances and progress that he saw this year.

“There’s always a lot of uncertainty with freshmen,” Rittman said. “They have to make the transition to college, to being away from home and playing against tougher competition, but they did a great job of coming in and learning and contributing.”

Center fielder Alissa Haber and catcher Rosey Neill led the youth movement for Stanford. Although the team graduated two key contributors — left fielder Jackie Rinehart and shortstop Lindsey Key — it will see everyone else back next year.

Haber led the Cardinal in the majority of the offensive statistics, including batting average (.365) and extra-base hits (21). Neill threw out two-thirds of opposing base stealers and called the games by midseason, in addition to providing some pop from the plate (seven home runs).

Haber also picked up a third team All-America designation becoming only the fifth freshman All-American in Stanford softball history.

Although there were disappointing elements to the season, it did finish on an upward trend. With Haber, Neill, Penna and most of the starting lineup returning next year, the stage is set for serious progress by Stanford softball in the upcoming seasons.

“The future,” Rittman said, “looks very good.”