The Beavers lost the first game of the series 8-0 against the seventh ranked Stanford Cardinal at Kelly Stadium on Friday afternoon

Junior Ellie Garcia took the circle and was greeted rudely by the Cardinal offense. After a leadoff walk to Taryn Kern and a single from Emily Jones, freshman Ava Gall drove a three run home run to right field.

The Beaver bats did not have an answer for Stanford’s star pitcher Nijaree Canady. Canady threw five no-hit innings with 10 strikeouts. Canady now has a .46 earned run average on the season which keeps her as the NCAA ERA leader.

While the Beavers couldn’t get the bats going, they held their own on defense. In the second inning Stanford looked to be mounting another big inning. With runners on second and third with nobody out, Garcia recorded her first strikeout.

With one down, Kern lined a hard ball to the right side, but Kiki Escobar played it perfectly, and after snagging the liner she caught River Mahler off second base to end the inning.

The Beavers got their first baserunner in the third, a walk from Savanah Whatley. She advanced to second on a fielder’s choice from Escobar and got to third on a wild pitch. But the Beavs were unable to get Whatley home.

After the third inning, Garcia didn’t allow another baserunner. She struck out three batters over two innings. But Stanford’s bats came back to life in the sixth.

Garcia would get two outs around an Aly Kaneshiro single, but then Kyra Chan sent a ball to deep center. Madi Simon tracked the ball well but as she extended her arm, she collided with the wall, dropping the ball allowing Kaneshiro to score.

Then the next batter Jade Berry drove a towering home run off the scoreboard, putting the game seemingly out of reach at 6-0, but the Cardinal onslaught wasn’t over there. Following a Mahler single to right. Canady put the icing on the cake that was her dominant performance, launching a 280 ft home run to center field.

Garcia’s day would end there as Sarah Haendiges came in relief. Haendiges faced one batter, Johnna Schroeder. Schroeder lined a ball to the left side and was robbed of a base hit by a diving Whatley.

In the bottom of the sixth, Canady was relieved by Alyssa Houston. Houston looked to complete the no-hitter that Canady started but was foiled by a line drive single from Madyson Clark.

The Beavers look to even the series against Stanford on Saturday at Kelly Stadium at 2 p.m.