Behind strong pitching and speed on the basepaths, the Case Western Reserve University softball team won a pair of games on the first day of the Pioneer Classic in Elizabethtown, Kentucky on Saturday, defeating Spalding 8-0 in five innings and Anderson (Ind.) 4-2 at Elizabethtown Sports Park.

The Spartans improve to 5-6, while the Golden Eagles fall to 4-4 and the Ravens fall to 2-4.

CWRU stole 17 bases and allowed a 1.17 ERA across the two games. Junior second baseman Amanda Riely stole five combined bases, leading the team, while sophomore shortstop KaiLi Gross added three steals.

CWRU 8, Spalding 0 (5 inn.)

The first Spalding batter recorded a base hit. After that, first-year pitcher Kylie Hosey (3-3) and sophomore pitcher/infielder Savannah Gazda retired the next 14 batters that came to the plate. They faced the minimum in the game, retiring the first runner on a double play to end the first inning. Hosey pitched the first four innings and struck out four, while Gazda earned a strikeout in the final inning.

The Spartans scored two runs in the second inning. Sophomore catcher Jordon Manworren reached on an error and advanced to third on a wild pitch. She scored on a groundout from senior infielder Grace Yeung. With first-year right fielder Isabella Russo on third, sophomore center fielder Kela Jagoda reached on an error, scoring the second run.

In the third inning, a run scored when senior infielder Liv Thomas grounded out with runners on second and third. Riely, who advanced to third on the groundout, scored on a wild pitch to give CWRU a 4-0 lead. After Manworren doubled and stole third, Russo drove her in with a single to increase the Spartan advantage. With runners on the corners in the next inning, Gross singled through the left side to put the Spartans ahead by six runs. The team then executed a double steal and sophomore infielder Kaila Nutter scored. After Gross stole third, a single from Rieger plated the final run of the game for Case Western Reserve. With the run rule in effect, the Spartans sealed the win by retiring the side in the top of the fifth.

CWRU had a well-balanced attack at the plate with six different Spartans driving in runs in the contest and seven different players scoring.

CWRU 4, Anderson (Ind.) 2

After two scoreless innings, the Spartans struck first against the Ravens in the top of the third inning. Gross singled with one out and stole second. With two outs, Riely singled to right field to drive her in, giving CWRU the lead.

The Spartans doubled their advantage in the fifth inning, taking advantage of Anderson miscues. Riely reached on an error with two outs, and promptly stole second. After Thomas walked, Manworren drove Riely in with a single to the shortstop. In the sixth inning, sophomore Elise Rolston, running for Yeung, scored on a flyout by Nutter, and in the seventh a double from Manworren brought Riely home to give CWRU a 4-0 lead.

The Ravens, who threatened to score all game, were finally able to break through against first-year pitcher Lexi Miskey in the seventh inning. Anderson scored two runs in the final frame, but the team's rally came up short as Miskey got the potential tying run to ground out to end the game. Miskey (2-3) threw her second consecutive complete game, allowing just one earned run on six hits while striking out five.

Gross, Riely, Manworren, and Russo all had multiple hits in the game. Riely led the team with three hits, her second-career three-hit contest.

CWRU will conclude the Pioneer Classic on Sunday, facing Hanover at 10 a.m. and Wittenberg at 12:30 p.m. at Elizabethtown Sports Park.