Case Western Reserve University senior pitcher Sidney Brannam started and earned the win in each of the two games, as the Spartans swept a doubleheader at Bluffton University on Friday afternoon, topping the Beavers 14-0 in five innings in the first game, and 8-3 in the second contest.

Brannam held Bluffton to zero runs on five hits and notched eight strikeouts in nine innings. She improved to 11-1 overall on the season, while lowering her earned run average to 1.79.

With the wins, the Spartans improved to 14-6 overall, while the Beavers dropped to 3-11 with the two losses.

Game 1: CWRU 14, Bluffton 0 (5 innings)
The Spartans scored a pair of runs in the first, erupted for a five-run inning in the third and then added seven more runs in the fifth to secure the 14-0 win in five innings over the Beavers during the early game.

First-year KaiLi Gross went three-for-four at the plate with three runs scored for the Spartans in the first game, while senior Sarah Miller went two-for-four with two home runs and five runs batted in.

Brannam pitched four innings, holding Bluffton scoreless on one hit, while striking out four batters. Junior Liv Thomas pitched the final inning in relief, as she didn't allow a run or hit.

For the third-consecutive game, Miller led off the game with a home run. The shot was her team-leading sixth of the season. Later in the inning, Thomas singled through the right side of the infield to score Gross as she gave CWRU a 2-0 lead.

The score remained 2-0 until the top of the third when the Spartans erupted for five runs in the inning to push the lead to 7-0. Included in the inning was a RBI single from Thomas and a RBI ground out from senior Hope Yashnik.

CWRU added seven more runs in the fifth. Senior Sydney Wagner started the scoring with a RBI single and then Miller came up later in the inning to hit a grand slam over the right field wall. The home run was her second of the game and seventh on the season. First-year Jordan Manworren capped off the inning with a RBI double down the right field line that scored senior Arisa Cleaveland and Gross. The Spartans held on to put the run-rule into effect after a scoreless bottom of the fifth to secure the victory.

Katie McCord started and suffered the loss for Bluffton in the first game, dropping to 1-4 on the season.

Game 2: CWRU 8, Bluffton 3
The Spartans made the most of their seven hits and took advantage of four errors and four walks from the Beavers to claim an 8-3 win over Bluffton in the late contest.

CWRU struck right away in the first inning as Miller stole third and then scored on an error by the Bluffton third baseman to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. The game remained 1-0 until the top of the fourth when junior Grace Yeung hit a sacrifice fly to left field that scored first-year Kaila Nutter.

The Spartans added a pair of runs in the sixth when Thomas launched a two-run homer over the center field fence to put the score at 4-0. CWRU closed out their scoring in the seventh as they scored another four runs, including a two-run RBI single from senior Dusstyn Reynolds and a RBI groundout from Thomas. Bluffton scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh but couldn't push across any more as CWRU held on for the victory.

Brannam started and went five innings on the mound, allowing zero runs on four hits, while striking out four batters. Erin Norman took the loss for the Beavers, falling to 1-3 for the season.

First-year Kela Jagoda finished a perfect three-for-three at the plate with one run scored, while Thomas went one-for-three with three runs batted in.

Case Western Reserve will return to action on Tuesday, April 6^th, when the team travels to Granville, Ohio to face Denison University for a doubleheader. The first pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.