The desert proved unfriendly for No. 12 Stanford softball, which was swept by the Wildcats and Sun Devils in a three-game Arizona road trip. A 4-1 loss to the defending national champion, No. 4 Arizona, on Friday followed by two blowout losses, 7-0 and 8-2 respectively, against Arizona State made for a troubling weekend for the Cardinal.

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Masaru Oka

MASARU OKA/The Stanford Daily Stanford couldn’t break out offensively in Arizona, averaging one run per game over the weekend. Shannon Koplitz, batting .348, along with the rest of the Cardinal will try and reverse that trend this Friday when they host UCLA.

The three consecutive Pacific-10 Conference losses dropped the Cardinal record to 27-12 overall and 3-6 in league play. This marks the sixth conference loss for Stanford in its last eight Pac-10 contests. Last weekend, Stanford lost the regular season series to archrival California in a heated three-game series. Coach John Rittman acknowledged the difficulty of playing in the Pac-10.

“Playing on the road in this conference isn’t easy,” Rittman said. “We’re playing some very good teams and we have to find a way to finish games.”

Coming into this weekend, Stanford starting pitcher Missy Penna appeared ready to step up for her squad. The sophomore’s second career no-hitter came midweek against Saint Mary’s, giving the Cardinal an 8-0 victory in six innings. Penna also had eight strikeouts on the night, including her 200th of the season.

However, against Arizona, Penna allowed four earned runs in six innings in the circle and struck out only two Wildcats. Sunday’s game against the Sun Devils was even more uncharacteristic for Penna, who allowed eight earned runs in her six innings of work. Although the weekend almost doubled her loss total for the season, Rittman showed unyielding support for his staff ace.

“Penna can definitely bounce back,” Rittman said. “I don’t think she was hit that hard. She just gave up some big hits, and we had a few errors, hit batters and bases on balls that preceded the big hits. We just had a hard time getting out of a couple innings this weekend, but there’s no question that we’re a capable team and that we can bounce back.”

The first game of the Arizona series was viewed by a packed crowd of over 1,200 fans. The Wildcats struck first with four early runs in the first three innings, their only runs of the game. Finding itself behind early, the Cardinal had the tough task of facing Arizona pitcher Taryne Mowatt, who boasted a streak of 21 consecutive scoreless innings.

Freshman catcher Rosey Neill reversed Mowatt’s fortunes with a fifth-inning lead-off blast to right field, her sixth home run of the season. The shot tied her with junior Michelle Smith for the team lead in home runs. Beside her tremendous power potential, Rittman commended his backstop on her defense as well.

“Rosey has done a great job, not only with her power, but also with providing the team her strong ability defensively behind the plate,” Rittman said. “Friday night, we lost to an Arizona team who’s very good at home. We had the bases loaded twice and we gave ourselves opportunities to stay in the game and win it.”

On Saturday, Arizona State pitcher Katie Burkhart blanked the Cardinal over seven innings, allowing only one hit to freshman Alissa Haber. Burkhart’s performance spoiled Cardinal junior Becky McCullough’s strong game, in which she allowed no earned runs and eight strikeouts in six innings. Four Stanford errors, however, proved to be the difference, accounting for seven unearned runs.

To finish the weekend, the Cardinal dropped its rematch against Arizona State, 8-2. Despite taking an early 2-0 lead over the Sun Devils, Stanford failed to hold onto the lead as Arizona State rallied back against Cardinal ace Penna. Sunday’s game seemed eerily similar to Saturday’s contest, according to Rittman.

“Basically the same thing happened on Sunday,” he said. “We had an early lead and made a few mistakes. Good teams are going to capitalize on mistakes and that’s something we’re going to have to get better at as the season moves along.”

Now, the Cardinal heads home for an eight-game homestand, including match-ups against No. 14 UCLA and No. 12 Washington, as well as rematches against Arizona and Arizona State. The stretch will be key to Stanford’s push for the postseason.

“We need some wins,” Rittman said. “It’s going to be nice to be back at home, and I think we’re looking forward to not traveling. We’re going to get ready to play some good games this week.”