Box Score The Case Western Reserve University softball team came away with a 6-4 victory in extra innings during the second game of a four-game series against Washington (Mo.) University on Saturday afternoon in St. Louis, Missouri.
The win improved the Spartans to 21-13 on the year, while Washington dropped to 15-16. CWRU now stands at 8-8 in the University Athletic Association, while the Bears fell to 4-9 in conference play in 2019.
Washington scored a run in the bottom of the first off Case Western Reserve sophomore starting pitcher Sidney Brannam, but the righty would settle in from there, holding the Bears scoreless over the next two innings. With the score still at 1-0, sophomore Arisa Cleaveland and freshman Brittany Hoopingarner executed a double steal where Cleaveland stole second and Hoopingarner stole home to even the game at 1-1 after two and half innings of play.
WashU would quickly regain the lead as the Bears scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 4-1 lead after three innings of play. The Spartans cut the deficit to 4-2 in the top of the fifth when Cleaveland launched a solo home run over the center field wall. The home run was her second of the season.
CWRU was once again able to tie the game in the top of the sixth, when freshman Liv Thomas hit a RBI single through the right side of the infield that scored Cleaveland. The Bears made an error on the throw back into the field, which allowed junior Nicole Carty to score on the play and even the score 4-4.
The game remained 4-4 until the top of the 10th inning. The inning began with a runner being placed at second for the Spartans, due to the international tie breaker rule that takes affect when two teams are tied heading into the 10th inning. Junior Ilissa Hamilton was placed at second and then sophomore Sydney Wagner executed a sacrifice bunt that resulted in a throwing error by the Bears third baseman which allowed Hamilton to come around and score. CWRU added to their lead later in the inning when Carty hit a RBI groundout that allowed Wagner to score, giving the Spartans a 6-4 lead heading into the bottom of the 10th.
Case Western Reserve held Washington scoreless in the bottom half of the inning to complete the comeback, extra-inning victory on Saturday afternoon.
Cleaveland and Carty each gathered three hits and a run batted in during the game, while Thomas went one-for-four at the plate with one run batted in.
Brannam started and went three innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits and two walks. Hamilton entered in relief and pitched the final seven innings of the game to earn her 11th victory of the season (11-6 overall). She allowed zero runs on six hits, while striking out three batters. Abby Graegin suffered the loss for WashU, dropping to 2-6 on the season.
The Spartans and the Bears will conclude their series on Sunday, April 28th, with a doubleheader starting at 10:00 a.m. ET in St. Louis.
