The No. 10 Stanford softball team dropped a 3-0 decision to archrival California last night at the Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium. The match was a pitcher’s duel for four shutout innings until a costly three-run homer blew the game open.

Sophomore pitcher Missy Penna took the loss, only her third of the year. Despite a 1.53 ERA on the season, Penna has given up nine home runs, including last night’s to leadoff hitter Alex Sutton following a visit to the mound by Stanford’s pitching coach.

Penna pitched a complete game with seven strikeouts, six of them in the first three innings. However, the team got quite a scare when a sixth-inning liner by Bernice Masaniai hit Penna in the circle. Freshman catcher Rosey Neill threw out the runner, and Penna stayed in the game.

Opposite Penna was Cal pitcher Lauren Frankiewicz, who pitched a three-hitter against the potent Cardinal offense. Stanford (26-8, 2-2 Pacific-10 Conference) threatened the Bears in the second inning with runners on second and third, but Frankiewicz struck out junior Tricia Aggabao to end the inning. From that point on, the Cardinal was unable to advance a runner past first base.

Cal (24-9, 1-3) also outplayed Stanford offensively, gaining a 5-3 advantage in hits. The only Cardinal players to get hits in the game were freshman Alissa Haber, junior Michelle Smith and Penna. All Stanford base hits were singles.

Stanford is now 17-27 all-time against Cal; last year, however, Stanford similarly dropped its first decision before moving on to take the season series 2-1.

Despite playing on its home field, the Cardinal was faced with a crowd full of Cal fans. During the later innings of the game, California cheers drowned out any Stanford support, which undoubtedly made a comeback all the more difficult.

Fortunately, the Cardinal won’t have to wait long for revenge. Stanford is slated for two more games at Cal this weekend, today at 3 p.m. and tomorrow at 1 p.m. These will mark the last matchups between the two rivals for the regular season.