Hannah Howell and Bessie Noll highlighted the defensive effort with diving catches in left and center field, respectively.

Pancino did not walk a batter and struck out two, allowing her defense to handle most of the activity.

It is the Cardinal’s (19-28, 2-18 Pac-12) first victory against a top-10 opponent since Feb. 14, 2015, when it defeated No. 3 Alabama, 4-1.

Pancino (6-5) took a perfect game into the fifth inning before allowing her only hit of the day. The freshman retired the final eight batters she faced to complete the shutout.

The Cardinal hit .429 (3-for-7) with runners in scoring position and produced five of its six runs with two outs.

The Cardinal’s pitching and defense has been excellent against Washington through the first two games, limiting the Huskies to one run on seven hits in 14 innings.

Noll’s catch came with two outs in the seventh inning and ended the game.

Howell’s was particularly important, coming with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Stanford went down in order in the top of the seventh, snapping a 15-inning streak with at least one batter reaching base, dating to the sixth inning of last Sunday’s matchup against No. 12 UCLA.

The Cardinal had opportunities to add additional runs but left runners stranded in each of the first six innings.

Kylie Sorenson extended her hitting streak to 11 games with a leadoff double in the top of the first inning.

Kristina Inouye and Whitney Burks paced the Cardinal at the plate. Inouye went 4-for-4 with two RBIs, while Burks when 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and two-RBI single. It was Burks’ team-leading seventh homer on the season.

Washington starter, Samantha Manti (7-2), had trouble containing Stanford’s offense allowing six runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings. Her defense did not help her out, committing three errors that resulted in four unearned runs for Stanford.

Stanford will go for its first Pac-12 series victory since 2013 Sunday at noon.

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Stanford softball nearly perfect in Pac-12 win over Washington