Stanford junior catcher Aly Kaneshiro homered to left field for her seventh home run of the season and brought home graduate student infielder Taylor Gindlesperger to give the Cardinal a three-run lead over the Gators in the bottom of the third inning.
Florida switched between three pitchers to try and keep Stanford from adding to the scoreboard, but it wasn't enough to end the sixth inning with the Cardinal in run-rule territory.
UF senior left handed pitcher Rylee Trlicek gave up a walk to Kaneshiro where she was then brought home by Stanford graduate student infielder Emily Young via a bunt. The small hit capitalized the Cardinal’s dominant victory.
The No. 20 Florida Gators (37-21, 11-13 SEC) were shut out by the No. 6 Stanford Cardinal (42-13, 14-10 PAC-12) 8-0 in the third game of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Regionals in Palo Alto, California Saturday. Stanford’s freshman pitcher NiJarre Canady let up only two hits to Florida throughout the entire game.
Canady started in the circle for the Cardinal and struck out Gators redshirt junior Skylar Wallace to begin the opening frame.
UF graduate student third baseman Charla Echols advanced to first after Canady hit her with a pitch. Sophomore second baseman Reagan Walsh grounded out to Canady as Stanford retired the side with Echols stranded at first.
Florida graduate student right-handed pitcher Elizabeth Hightower gave up a walk to Stanford freshman infielder River Mahler to begin the bottom of the first inning. Mahler advanced to second base after Gindlesperge grounded out to second base.
Falby caught a foul ball from Young to end the inning for the Gators with Mahler at second.
Canady struck out UF graduate student utility player Pal Egan, freshman infielder Kaila Pollard and junior outfielder Katie Kistler in order to close the top of the second inning.
Hightower walked Stanford sophomore pitcher Kylie Chung, where she then advanced to second after a single to right field from graduate student first baseman Emily Schultz. Sophomore utility player Dani Hayes then pinch ran for Chung.
Cardinal senior outfielder Kaitlyn Lim hit a bunt and was caught out at first, but both Schultz and Hayes advanced. Sophomore catcher Allie Clements reached off a fielding error which advanced Schultz to third, and Hayes scored to give Stanford a 1-0 lead.
Wallace singled to left field to leadoff the Gators in the top of the third after Canady struck out the two previous at-bats of senior utility player Sarah Longley and junior first baseman Avery Goelz. Another strikeout from Canady to Falby left Wallace stranded on first to end the half.
Gindlesperger hit a leadoff single up the middle for Cardinal in the bottom of the third. Kaneshiro homered to left field and brought home Gindlesperger to give Stanford a three-run lead.
Hightower gave up a walk to Young and she advanced to second base after Chung singled up the middle. Schultz reached on a fielder's choice; Chung was caught out at second and Young advanced to third. Hightower gave up another walk to Lim to load the bases.
Lim advanced to second base due to a wild pitch and Young scored to extend Stanford’s lead to 4-0. Senior infielder Sydney Steele doubled down the left field line and brought home both Lim and Schultz to give the Cardinal’s a six-run lead.
Canady held Florida scoreless through the fourth after she struck out Egan to end the top of the inning. UF sophomore right-handed pitcher Lexi Delbrey replaced Hightower in the bottom of the fourth.
Kaneshiro doubled to right-center field and was pinch ran for by Stanford freshman infielder Emily Jones. Delbrey walked Young and she later stole second base after Chung hit a fly out to right field and Jones advanced to third.
Another walk from Delbrey loaded the bases. She walked Lim and scored Jones to push the Cardinal’s lead to 7-0.
Canady and Stanford’s defense held Florida back from answering back with a run through the fifth. Trlicek replaced Delbrey to start the bottom of the inning.
Stanford junior outfielder Elle Eck hit a leadoff single up the middle, but was caught out when she tried to steal second. A groundout from Gindlesperge ended the fifth inning with no runs scored for the first time in the game since the second inning.
UF graduate student Kinsey Goelz advanced to first after she was hit by a pitch from Canady early in the top of the sixth. Falby then singled to left field to advance Goelz to second.
Florida sophomore catcher Sam Roe reached on a fielder's choice and Goelz advanced to third, but a fly out from Walsh ended the inning with no runs scored.
Trlicek walked Kaneshiro and she advanced to second on a wild pitch. Young reached on a fielding error via a bunt and Kaneshiro scored to end the game with a run-rule victory for Stanford.
UF will play the winner of game four between Loyola Marymount and Long Beach State Saturday at 10 p.m. The game will stream on ESPN+.
Contact Alyssa Britton-Harr at abritton-harr@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @abrittonharr.
Alyssa Britton-Harr is a second-year journalism major and a sports reporter for The Alligator. In her free time, she enjoys cheering on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and spending time with her friends.
