Stanford 1 No. 1 seed

vs.

Central Michigan 2 No. 6 seed

Score by Innings		1	2	3		4	5	6		7	8	9		0	1	2		3		R	H	E
Central Michigan (32-11)		0	0	1		0	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	0		1		2	8	0
Stanford (45-17)		1	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	0		0	0	0		0		1	8	3

Boxscore and Play-By-Play

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Alumni Field)
Event: NCAA Regional 8 Softball Championship (Game 1)
Result: Central Michigan 2, Stanford 1 (13 innings)
Records: CMU (32-11); Stanford (45-17)
Next CMU Game: Friday, May 19 -- vs. Illinois-Chicago, 2 p.m.
Next Stanford Game: Friday, May 19 -- vs. Michigan/DePaul loser, noon

Chippewas Upset Top Seed Stanford in 13 Innings

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- In a game that matched the longest contest ever played at Alumni Field, No. 6 seed Central Michigan upset top seed Stanford 2-1 in 13 innings in first-round action at the NCAA Regional 8 Softball Championship on Thursday afternoon (May 18) at Michigan's Alumni Field. The Chippewas were paced by pitcher Tina Kinney, who accounted for both Central Michigan RBI and pitched a complete-game eight-hitter to earn the victory.

Stanford jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after centerfielder and Pac-10 Player of the Year Jessica Mendoza connected on a two-out home run in the Cardinal half of the first. Stanford's score came on the heels of shutting Central Michigan out in the top half of the first after the Chippewas loaded the bases with one out. However, Stanford pitched Dena Sorenson, who struck out a season-high 15 batters, fanned Jennifer Skuta and Hope Robertshaw to snuff out the Chippewa rally.

Following a 1-2-3 second inning and a 42-minute rain delay, Central Michigan broke through to knot the game with a run in the third. Chippewa shortstop and leadoff hitter Becky Manson, who was 4-for-6 for the game, reached on an error by Sorenson to lead off the inning. Kim Burke followed with a sacrifice bunt and designated hitter Nicole Weston grounded out to push Manson around to third base with two down. Kinney came through with a big two-out RBI single to right to help her own cause.

From there the game settled down into a pitcher's dual, with scoring chances coming in a very limited fashion. The best scoring chance in regulation came in the bottom of the seventh after Stanford's Mendoza legged out an infield single to lead off the inning. Mendoza stole second but was not advanced as Kinney struck out cleanup hitter Sarah Beeson. However, Cardinal catcher Kellie Wiginton answered the challenge and delivered a base hit to centerfield, but the speedy Mendoza was gunned down by Central Michigan's Amy Morrison in a close play at the plate. The looping single to center off the bat of Wiginton caused Mendoza to freeze at second just long enough to give Morrison a chance to make the play at the plate, which was blocked by catcher Lindsay Horvath.

Five and a half more scoreless innings followed before Manson led off the 13th with a single to left. Again, Burke sacrificed Manson to second to put her in scoring position with one out. Weston's deep flyball to rightfield off the bat of Weston was dropped by Stanford rightfielder Ramona Shelburne to put runners on first and third with one out, setting the stage for Kinney. She promptly delivered a solid single to left, scoring Mason and giving the Chippewas their first lead of the game. Kinney closed out the upset with a relatively easy 1-2-3 13th.

Central Michigan advances to face Illinois-Chicago on Friday (May 19) at 2 p.m., while Stanford faces the loser of the Michigan/DePaul game on Friday (May 19) at noon.

Q U O T E S

Central Michigan Head Coach Margo Jonker
On the keys to upsetting Stanford ... "The key to the game was defense and we had great pitching. The plays by (Jennifer) Skuta in leftfield with the catch and control, then getting the putout at first and Amy's (Morrison) throw to the plate. The offense also came through, Tina (Kinney) had two hits and came through with the game-winning RBI and it was gonna come down to who got the key play and we executed this time."

On leadoff hitter Becky Manson ..."Becky got us going by getting four hits. Throughout the season it has been important for Becky to get on to score runs, so here was another situation where she did get on quite often one way or another."

On the difference in the game ... "I thought earlier in the game we were playing better than Stanford because they made a few defensive errors. It was going to come down to one hit or one error that would make the difference, and the way we played it would have been a shame to lose."

CMU Pitcher Tina Kinney
On batting .091 in the Mid-American Conference Tournament and getting two hits in today's game ... "One game at a time, one hit at a time, one at bat at a time. Every game is different. I don't think about bad games or each at bat. If I thought otherwise I shouldn't be up there."

On Central Michigan's defense ... "Our defense has been outstanding all year long; even if I don't pitch a good game they're right behind me keeping us in the game. They make plays and think it's a lot to do with our adrenaline running. We're willing to go out and dive for balls and do whatever it takes to make the play."

CMU Designated Player Nicole Weston
On reaching on an error to set up the game-winning run ... "She (Stanford pitcher Dana Sorensen) was throwing me outside all game long, and that was probably my best bet to get a hit, so I was looking for the outside pitch and I just got ahold of it."

Stanford Head Coach John Rittman
On Stanford's defensive miscues ... "When you get to this level and especially a game like today you can't make three defensive errors and expect to win having to keep pitching out of those situations. Today both their runs started off from errors, so that definitely played an important role today."

On the loss ... "It was a tough loss; we didn't swing the bats well today. I tip my hat off to their pitcher (Tina Kinney) -- she kept us off-balance. We had our opportunities, but didn't finish them. The biggest thing for us is to keep our heads up. We're not out of it yet. It's do or die now and we have to play our type of softball to keep going."

Stanford Pitcher Dana Sorensen
On the first-round upset ... "It kind of sucks losing this game, to say it straight out. We put so much hard work in this season to come here as the No. 1 seed and lose. But it doesn't mean we're out, we're still in it. That is the reason it is double-elimination. I'm confident we will come out tomorrow and play better."

N O T E S

• Central Michigan's Tina Kinney recorded her 500th career strikeout, and she set a CMU record with her 23rd victory of the season.

• This is the second straight year that Central Michigan has played an extra-inning contest in the NCAA first round. Last year in Ann Arbor, the fourth-seeded Chippewas opened regional play with a 2-1, nine-inning loss against No. 3 seed Arizona State, the eventual regional champion.

• Stanford's Jessica Mendoza hit her 12th home run of the season in the first inning and stole her 20th base of the season.

• Stanford is now 1-2 in NCAA regional openers, and the Cardinal is 5-4 in extra-inning games this season.

• Dana Sorensen's 15 strikeouts is her career high and her strikeout performance is tied for second all-time at Michigan's Alumni Field.

Last updated: Thursday, 18-May-2000 18:58:08 EDT