The Big Swing breaks record as Cal denies Stanford softball a series sweep
In front of 13,207 fans — the largest single‑game attendance in NCAA softball history — No. 15 Stanford (32-9, 11-7 ACC) fell 10‑8 to rival Cal (30-16, 7-11 ACC) on Saturday afternoon in the Big Swing at Stanford Stadium. The attendance eclipsed the previous overall record of 12,566, which was set at the 2024 Women’s College World Series, and easily topped the regular‑season record of 9,259 established earlier this month at Oklahoma. The crowd is also the largest ever at a non-football Stanford Athletics event in school history.
Despite the setback, the Cardinal still claimed the three‑game set after posting 7‑4 and 9‑3 wins Thursday and Friday. As a result of Friday’s victory, Stanford punched their ticket to their first-ever ACC championship.
“It’s a really big series win to come out and beat Cal,” said Stanford head coach Jessica Allister. “Would I like to be on the other side? Yes. But what a great experience. A lot of effort went into getting this day together and to see the fan engagement and excitement. What a great day of softball.”
To open the game, Cal’s offense ambushed freshman starting pitcher Zoe Prystajko with a five‑run first inning highlighted by homers from Elon Butler and Kaylee Pond. Stanford, however, provided an immediate response in the home half of the inning. After base hits by juniors Taryn Kern and River Mahler, sophomore Jade Berry crushed a three‑run shot to straightaway center to cut the deficit to 5‑3.
The Golden Bears restored a four‑run cushion in the second when Tianna Bell launched a two‑run blast off senior reliever Kylie Chung, and they stretched the margin to 10‑6 with three runs against sophomore Alyssa Houston in the fourth. Houston, pitching for the third straight game, steadied the staff by holding Cal scoreless over the final three frames.
Stanford’s offense kept swinging, though. Junior Kyra Chan drove a pitch over the right‑field wall for a three‑run homer in the third, and freshman Joie Economides tacked on a solo shot in the fifth. Kern’s sacrifice fly in the sixth plated graduate student Caelan Koch and brought the Cardinal within 10‑8, but Cal right‑hander Miranda De Nava retired the final five hitters to secure the win.
Moments before Stanford came to bat in the seventh, the attendance number flashed across both video boards at Stanford Stadium, sending a ripple of cheers through the stadium.
“It was kind of like a mini College World Series experience,” Chan said. “That was the last time we had that many fans, so it was nice to have all those people rooting for Stanford.”
Koch, who finished the game with three singles, was amazed with the atmosphere.
“It was surreal,” Koch said. “Just super awesome to see everyone you care about up in the stands, how excited they are for us to be out there, and to be out there with your best friends competing, so it was great.”
Allister hopes Saturday’s turnout sparks broader investment in women’s sports.
“I think that you see a consistent theme that there aren’t big enough venues for women’s sports to be able to draw the fans that they can draw,” said Allister. “So hopefully a lot of people who showed up to Stanford for the first time to watch a softball game will come back and see us in our beautiful stadium next year.”
Saturday’s loss stung, but Stanford finished the weekend with a championship birth, a series win and a place in the record books. The Big Swing showed there is rising support for the softball program, including from Stanford football general manager Andrew Luck, who delivered the ceremonial first pitch.
“Andrew is great,” Allister said. “He was around a lot, even before he was around in an official capacity, and was just an excellent supporter of the program. No one represents Stanford quite to the level of Andrew Luck.”
With the ACC championship just a few weeks away, the Cardinal will look to finish the season strong. Next up, they will head to Sacramento State (22-20, 7-5 Big Sky) for a rare one-game set on Tuesday before coming back to The Farm for a weekend series against Virginia (33-14, 13-8 ACC).
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