Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 The Case Western Reserve University softball team earned a pair of wins at Mather Park in Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday, winning the first game of the doubleheader against Wittenberg University 8-6, and then claiming a 13-5 victory in six innings during the second contest of the day.
Prior to the game, the Spartans honored the team's seven senior members – Sidney Brannam, Arisa Cleaveland, Sarah Miller, Dusstyn Reynolds, Sydney Wagner, Gretchen Weiss and Hope Yashnik. This senior class has helped the team to a 94-38 record over the last four years, including a program-record 38 wins in 2018.
The sweep improved the Spartans to 25-9 overall, while Wittenberg dropped its ledger to 19-11-1 with the two losses.
Game 1: CWRU 8, Wittenberg 6
Case Western Reserve University senior catcher Dusstyn Reynolds led the Spartans at the plate with a three-for-four performance in which she drove in three runs.
The Spartans jumped out to the early lead, as they scored four runs in the bottom of the first to take the 4-0 lead after one inning of play. Senior Arisa Cleaveland started the scoring with a RBI single to center field that scored senior Sarah Miller. Junior Liv Thomas then roped a double to left center field that scored Cleaveland. Senior Hope Yashnik would hit a sacrifice fly later in the inning and then junior Grace Yeung concluded the scoring with a RBI groundout.
CWRU added another run in the bottom of the second on a RBI double from Reynolds that scored first-year Kela Jagoda.
The Tigers got on the board in the top of the fourth to cut the Spartan lead to 5-1, but the Spartans came right back in the bottom half of the fourth to score a pair of runs to increase the advantage to 7-1. Miller and Reynolds each hit RBI singles in the inning.
Wittenberg's offense erupted for four runs in the top of the fifth to minimize the deficit to 7-5 after five innings of play. CWRU scored a run in the bottom of the sixth and the Tigers scored a run in the top of seventh, but the Spartans were able to hold on for the 8-6 victory.
Miller went two-for-three at the plate with one RBI, while Cleaveland went two-for-four with one run batted in.
Senior Sidney Brannam pitched the first four innings, allowing one earned run on five hits and a walk, while striking out two batters. She improved to 19-3 with the victory. Thomas wrapped up the victory as she allowed one earned run in three innings of relief, to notch her first save of the campaign.
Game 2: CWRU 13, Wittenberg 5 (6 innings)
The Spartans and Tigers were tied at 4-4 until the bottom of the fifth when CWRU jumped out to a 9-4 lead after a five-run inning. Wittenberg scored a run in the top of the sixth, but CWRU would answer with four runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth, en route to a run-rule shortened victory for the Spartans over the Tigers in the second game of the day.
Thomas drove in a team-high four runs in the game, as she went a perfect four-for-four with three home runs. This was the second time this season that a CWRU player has hit three home runs in a game, as Miller hit three in a game against Kent State University on April 18.
The Spartans scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first and then Wittenberg answered with two runs of their own to even the score at 2-2 after two innings of play.
The Tigers pushed two more runs across in the top of the third, before CWRU answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at 4-4. Thomas launched her first home run of the game during the inning, a two-run shot to right center field that scored first-year Jordon Manworren.
The score remained 4-4 until the bottom of the fifth when the Spartans erupted for five runs in the inning. Thomas opened the inning with a solo home run to right field and then Miller capped off the inning with a two-run homer to right center field. The home run was Miller's team-leading 16th of the season.
After a run by Wittenberg in the top of the sixth, CWRU closed out the game in the bottom half of the inning as they scored four runs to secure the 13-5 victory in six innings. Thomas once again led off the inning with a solo home, her third of the game and eighth of the season. Later in the inning, sophomore Amanda Riely laced a RBI single to center field that scored Yashnik and then Jagoda delivered a two-run RBI single that scored Yeung and Riely.
Brannam started and went all six innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on 11 hits, while striking out seven batters. She improved to 21-3 on the season. With that win, Brannam tied the school's single-season record for wins in a season (21), as former Spartan Ilissa Hamilton went 21-8 during the 2018 season.
Case Western Reserve will return to action on Saturday, May 8th when the team welcomes Denison University to Mather Park for a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. The Spartans' originally scheduled doubleheader against Franciscan University on Monday, May 3rd has been cancelled.
