The Case Western Reserve University baseball team swept Wittenberg University in a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, winning the first game 14-7, followed by an 8-5 victory in game two at Nobby's Ballpark in Cleveland, Ohio.

The two wins raise the Spartans' overall record to 10-6, as the team ended a stretch of 10 games in eight days with a 7-3 record. Wittenberg dropped to 11-3, with all three of their losses this year coming against the Spartans, as the two split their six-game season series.

Senior outfielder Benjamin Stawicki led the way at the plate for the Spartans, driving in six runs over the two games and finishing the day five-for-nine with three doubles, a triple and three runs scored. First-year third baseman Zack Carinci added a four-for-seven performance with three walks and four runs scored, raising his team-leading batting average to .356 and extending his hitting streak to 10 games, and sophomore first baseman Nick Talarico went four-for-eight with three extra base hits (including a home run) and three RBIs.

Game 1 – CWRU 14, Wittenberg 7
The Spartans exploded for 14 runs in the opening game of the doubleheader, including a seven-run fifth inning, to defeat Wittenberg 14-7.

The 14 runs were a season-high for CWRU, which also matched its season-high with 16 hits in the contest. Eight of the Spartans hits went for extra bases.

The Spartans went to work early in the game, scoring two runs in the first on a two-out single by Stawicki, and added two more in the second on a two-out double by senior shortstop Jacob Lott to go ahead 4-0. Wittenberg pulled back within a run, scoring one in the third and two in the fifth against CWRU first-year starter Reece Marley, before the Spartans broke the game open with seven runs in the bottom of the fifth.

CWRU sent 12 batters to the plate in the inning, with eight different Spartans registering a hit. Five of the hits went for extra bases, including a solo home run by Lott to lead off the inning (his second of the season), a two-RBI triple by Simon, and run-scoring doubles by Stawicki and junior outfielder Cole Jarrett.

The Spartans added a run in the sixth, when first-year second baseman Justin Zachery scored on a wild pitch, and two more in the seventh when Jarrett scored on a wild pitch, and another RBI double by Stawicki, to cap off their scoring.

Marley earned his first collegiate victory in the game, improving to 1-1 on the year. He allowed four runs on six hits, while walking three and striking out six batters. Junior Willem Bouma added two innings of relief work, while sophomore Sankalp Doshi closed out the game, striking out two batters and retiring the side in order in the ninth.

Stawicki finished the game three-for-four with a run, four RBIs, and two doubles, while Carinci was three-for-four with three runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base. Lott drove in three runs, and Jarrett stole three bases in the game, raising his season total to a team-best six.

Wittenberg starter Joe Horoszko suffered the loss, dropping to 2-1 on the campaign.

Game 2 – CWRU 8, Wittenberg 5
The Spartans overcame an early deficit in the second game, scoring six unanswered runs in the second, third and fourth innings, and staved off a late comeback attempt by the Tigers to win 8-5.

Sophomore righty Jackson Morris started and settled down after allowing a pair of runs in the first, holding the Tigers scoreless through the remainder of his outing. He held Wittenberg to two runs (one earned) on three hits and struck out five, without walking a batter.

CWRU took the lead with a three-run bottom of the second inning. Sophomore designated hitter Trey Haley was hit by a pitch to open the inning, and back-to-back doubles by Stawicki and Simon tied the game at 2-2. Later in the inning, a two-out single by Jarrett scored Simon and put CWRU ahead 3-2. The Spartans added two more in the third on an RBI triple by Stawicki and an RBI single from sophomore catcher Jack Anderson. In the fifth, a solo home run by Talarico, his third of the week, put the Spartans in from 6-2.

Wittenberg scored three runs in the sixth to pull back within a run, but first-year reliever Tyler Horvath left the tying and go-ahead runs stranded on the basepaths in both the sixth and seventh innings to preserve the Spartans' one-run lead. In the eighth, Talarico drove in two more key insurance runs with a two-out triple, putting the Spartans in front 8-5, and Horvath worked around a two-out single in the ninth to close out the victory.

Morris earned the win to improve to 2-0 on the year, while Horvath claimed his second save of the year with four innings of relief work. Talarico finished the game three-for-five with three RBIs and a run scored, while Simon went three-for-three with a run, an RBI and a walk.

Nick Cunningham started and took the loss for Wittenberg to drop to 1-2 on the season.

Case Western Reserve will be back in action next weekend, when the team is slated to travel to Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio on Saturday, April 10. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for noon.