Box Score Case Western Reserve University first-year pitcher Lexi Miskey spun a four-hit complete game shutout on Sunday afternoon in St. Louis, Missouri, picking up her second win of the series and earning the Spartans a split of a four-game series with 25th-ranked Washington University (Mo.) with a 5-0 victory.
The Spartans improved to 13-8 overall on the season with the win, including a 5-2 mark in University Athletic Association play. CWRU sits just half a game behind the Bears for first place in the standings, as WashU now stands at 18-6 overall with a 6-2 league mark.
Miskey yielded just four hits and two walks, while striking out six batters in the masterful effort. She improved to 6-3 overall on the season, while lowering her earned run average to 1.24 for the campaign. Miskey was the pitcher of record in both of CWRU's wins against the Bears, allowing just one earned run in 14 innings on the mound during the weekend.
First-year outfielder Isabella Russo went two-for-two with two doubles, a run, an RBI, a walk and a stolen base. Senior third baseman Liv Thomas belted her fourth home run of the season as part of a two-for-three day at the plate, and sophomore shortstop KaiLi Gross was two-for-four with three stolen bases on Sunday.
CWRU broke a scoreless tie in the second, when a one-out double by Russo scored Thomas. Russo later scored on an error by the Bears, extending CWRU's lead to 2-0. In the fourth inning, Thomas connected for a one-out solo home run to centerfield, putting the Spartans in front 3-0. CWRU added another run in the top of the sixth on a fielder's choice by senior first baseman Grace Yeung that scored junior second baseman Amanda Riely and took a 5-0 advantage on a single by sophomore catcher Jordon Manworren that plated Gross in the top of the seventh.
Miskey locked down the win with a pair of strikeouts with a runner on second base to close out the shutout, her third overall this season, and her second in UAA play.
Case Western Reserve will return home for a four-game UAA series next weekend against Emory. The Spartans and the Eagles will open the series on Friday, April 8 at 3:00 p.m. at Mather Park.
