Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 The Case Western Reserve University softball team split a doubleheader against Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio on Sunday afternoon. The Spartans came away with the victory in the early contest, 6-1, but the Yellow Jackets rallied back in the second game of the doubleheader to win 5-2.
With the split, CWRU now has an overall record of 6-4, while the Yellow Jackets moved to 3-8-1 on the season.
Game 1: CWRU 6, Defiance 1
The first game was scoreless until the top of the third when first-year KaiLi Gross opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly to left field that scored senior Sarah Miller from third. Later in the inning, first-year Stevie Rieger and senior Arisa Cleaveland executed a perfect double steal that allowed Cleaveland to cross home plate for the second run of the inning.
The Spartans added four more runs in the top of the fifth. Gross drove in a pair of runs with a RBI single and then ended up scoring later in the inning on a fielding error by the Yellow Jackets shortstop. Senior Hope Yashnik then drove across the final run in the inning, as she laced a single through the right side of the infield that scored senior Sydney Wagner.
Defiance scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead to 6-1, but CWRU was able to hold them off for the remainder of the inning to secure the 6-1 victory.
Senior Sidney Brannam pitched the complete game, as she only allowed one run on one hit and two walks, while striking out six batters. She improved to 5-1 on the season.
At the plate, Miller went a perfect two-for two, while Gross added a one-for three game with three runs batted in.
Game 2: Defiance 5, CWRU 2
Defiance got out to the early lead in the second game of the day, as they pushed a run across in the bottom of the first to take the 1-0 lead.
The Spartans were able to even the score at 1-1 in the top of the third when Gross hit a sacrifice fly to left field that scored first-year Savannah Gazda from third.
The Yellow Jackets regained the lead in the bottom of the third with a run and then added three more runs in the bottom of the fifth to push the advantage to 5-1.
CWRU attempted a comeback in the top of the seventh when Gross drove across another RBI, as she hit into a fielder's choice which allowed Miller to come around for the score. However, the Spartans were unable to generate any more runs in the inning as Defiance held on for the 5-2 win.
Five different Spartans collected a hit during the second game, including a two-for-three performance from first-year Kela Jagoda.
On the mound, Gross started and allowed four earned runs on nine hits and two walks, while striking out three batters in her six innings pitched. She fell to 0-1 on the year. Savannah McCoy earned the win for Defiance, as she improved to 2-1 on the campaign.
Case Western Reserve will be back in action on Wednesday, March 24th when the team heads to Hiram, Ohio for a doubleheader against Hiram College. The first game of the doubleheader is slated to start at 3:00 p.m.
