The Case Western Reserve University softball team shut out Brandeis University 7-0 at Marcus Field in Waltham, Massachusetts on Sunday afternoon, winning their 20th game of the season. It is the fifth shutout of the season for CWRU.

The Spartans improved to 20-9 on the season and 12-3 in the University Athletic Association. Case Western Reserve, who entered the day with a one game lead over Washington University in St. Louis in the conference standings, will remain atop the conference standings with four league games remaining on the schedule. The Spartans have won 20 games for the 10th full season in a row. The Judges fall to 20-14 overall and 6-10 in the UAA.

After three scoreless, hitless innings from both pitchers, senior infielder Liv Thomas and first-year utility player Isabella Russo led off the fourth inning with back-to-back singles. Following a sacrifice bunt from junior infielder Amanda Riely, senior infielder Grace Yeung drove both runners in with a double to left center field, giving Case Western Reserve a 2-0 lead. She then scored on a double from junior outfielder Carli Tucci to put the Spartans ahead by three runs. First-year catcher Katelyn Lamm added to the Spartan tally with a single that scored Tucci, giving CWRU a 4-0 lead.

First-year pitcher Kylie Hosey allowed her first hit of the game with one out in the fourth inning, but retired the next two batters to keep the Judges off the board. Hosey (11-5) pitched a complete game with three strikeouts, shutting out Brandeis on just one hit and one walk. She lowered her earned run average to 2.01, the fourth-best mark in the conference, with her first career shutout.  

In the fifth inning, Russo drove in a run with a single, scoring sophomore outfielder Stevie Rieger to put the Spartans ahead 5-0. Thomas added another run in the seventh inning with a solo home run, her team-leading eighth homer of the season and fifth in her last 10 games. In the next at bat, Russo hit a solo home run of her own to give CWRU a 7-0 advantage.

Thomas, who went two-for-four in the game, has 24 career home runs, the fourth-most in program history. Russo went three-for-four at the plate, her first career three-hit game, with two runs scored and two runs driven in. It was her fifth homer of the season and third of the series.

The Spartans will travel to Hiram, Ohio on Tuesday, April 19 for their final road games of the season. The team faces Hiram College in a non-conference doubleheader with first pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m. CWRU returns to Mather Park on Friday, April 22 to start a four-game UAA series with Carnegie Mellon.