The Case Western Reserve University softball team completed one of the best seasons in program history in 2022, reaching the Super Regional round of the NCAA Division III Softball Championship, winning the University Athletic Association Championship, and recording an overall record of 30-12.
The Spartans qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship for the third time in program history and second since 2018. CWRU hosted the Regional Round of the tournament at Mather Park and won four of its five games to advance to the Super Regional Round for the second time in program history. The team finished the year ranked 13th in the final National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Top 25 Poll after appearing three times in the poll in the regular season.
After earning a Pool C selection to the NCAA Championship following a record of 26-9 in the regular season, Case Western Reserve hosted a four-team regional at Mather Park in Cleveland, Ohio. The Spartans won their first game in extra innings, with first-year pitcher Lexi Miskey setting the program single-game record with 14 strikeouts, before falling to Concordia (Wis.) the next day. CWRU responded by winning an elimination game later in the day and sweeping Concordia on the regional's final day to advance to the Super Regional Round. Miskey was named the Regional's Most Outstanding Player after allowing three earned runs in 24 innings (0.88 earned run average) with 28 strikeouts in three starts. First-year pitcher Kylie Hosey, junior infielder Amanda Riely, and first-year outfielder Isabella Russo also earned All-Tournament Team honors.
The Spartans dropped both games at the NCAA Super Regional, hosted by Trine University in Angola, Indiana, ending their season.
In the regular season, Case Western Reserve claimed its fifth UAA Championship and first outright title since 1999. The Spartans finished the conference slate with a record of 16-3, their most wins since conference games moved to campus sites in 2017. The team swept New York University, Emory, and Carnegie Mellon, and did not drop a UAA contest at home all season. Miskey was named the conference Rookie of the Year and Pitcher of the Year and sophomore infielder KaiLi Gross claimed UAA Sophomore of the Year honors.
The Spartans were led by their two seniors and five players in either their first or second collegiate season. Senior infielders Grace Yeung and Liv Thomas each earned All-UAA First Team honors with Thomas also being named to the NFCA All-Region Third Team. Miskey turned in one of the top performances in the circle in program history, earning NFCA All-Region Second Team honors and finishing as one of the 10 finalists for the 2022 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III National Freshman of the Year award. She was also named to the All-UAA First Team. Miskey split innings with Hosey, an All-UAA First Team selection and NFCA All-Region Third Team selection. Gross built upon a strong debut season with a spot on the All-UAA First Team. Russo was named to the All-UAA Second Team, while sophomore outfielder Stevie Rieger led the UAA and finished tied for 25th in Division III with 31 stolen bases.
Miskey, in just her first collegiate season, set single-season program records in strikeouts, strikeouts per seven innings, ERA, and opponents' batting average. She recorded 159 strikeouts in 138 innings in the 2022 season for a rate of 8.07 strikeouts per seven innings, while posting a 1.27 ERA and allowing just a .185 batting average. Miskey finished the year with a record of 16-6, 17 complete games, three shutouts, and two saves. She tied the single-game program record with 13 strikeouts against Carnegie Mellon on April 23 and set a new CWRU mark with 14 punchouts against TCNJ on May 13 in the first game of the Cleveland Regional. Miskey earned UAA Pitcher of the Week honors on April 4, April 25, and May 16.
Gross led the UAA with a .675 slugging percentage and finished second in the conference with a .398 batting average as the Spartans leadoff hitter for most of the season. Playing in 38 games, she hit six home runs and 10 doubles along with a team-leading three triples. Gross stole 25 bases, second most on the team and in the conference, drove in 12 runs, and scored 30 times. She was named to the Academic All-America Third Team with a 4.0 grade point average as a biomedical engineering student.
Hosey went 14-6 in 23 appearances for the Spartans in the circle. In her first collegiate start on March 7, she tied the program record with 13 strikeouts in a single game, and she pitched a no-hitter against John Carroll on March 23. Hosey pitched the third-most innings in the UAA (117.2) and had the fifth-lowest ERA in the conference (2.26). She struck out 85 batters and allowed just 27 walks during the season with one shutout and 11 complete games. Hosey earned UAA Pitcher of the Week honors on March 28 and April 18.
Thomas, one of three four-time All-UAA honorees in program history, completed one of the best careers as a hitter in program history. She ended her career with a .367 batting average (seventh best in program history), .463 on-base percentage (second best in program history), and .664 slugging percentage (third best in program history). In 2022, she led the team with nine home runs, 23 walks, and a .469 on-base percentage. She also hit five doubles and stole seven bases. In 118 career games, Thomas hit 25 home runs, fourth most in CWRU history.
Yeung earned her first All-UAA selection in her final season as a Spartan after she hit .287 (31-for-108) with six home runs and a team-leading 29 runs batted in while appearing in all 42 games for Case Western Reserve. She hit eight doubles and stole six bases during the campaign, both career highs. In 93 career games, Yeung slugged nine home runs and 14 doubles with 55 runs batted in and a .270 batting average. She hit a walk-off home run on Senior Day against Carnegie Mellon on April 24, and she slugged her first career grand slam against the Tartans the previous day. Yeung's six runs batted in during that game were one shy of the single-game program record. Yeung earned UAA Hitter of the Week honors on April 11 and April 25.
Russo placed second on the team with six home runs and 28 runs batted in during the season. She was second on the team in batting average (.357) and third on the squad in on-base percentage (.432) and slugging percentage (.612) in 39 games. Russo stole 12 bases, hit five doubles and one triple, and scored 25 runs. In the postseason, she drove in a team-leading seven runs. Russo was named UAA Hitter of the Week on April 18 and May 16.
The Spartans were one of the top base stealing teams in Division III in 2022, swiping 138 bags in 166 opportunities (83.1% success rate). CWRU ranked fourth in Division III in both steals and steals per game (3.29) and set a new program record in stolen bases. Rieger had the second-most steals in a single season in program history with 31 and five Spartans stole at least 10 bases.
The Spartan coaching staff also received honors during the 2022 campaign, as they were named NFCA Region VII Coaching Staff of the Year and UAA Coaching Staff of the Year. Along with Head Coach Josie Henry, assistant coaches Julie Pratt, Ashley Parello, Sidney Brannam, Melissa Cuellar, Nicole Doyle, and Hope Yashnik all shared the honors, after helping to lead the Spartans to the UAA Championship and Super Regional Round of the NCAA Tournament.
In addition to the team's success on the field, the Spartans excelled in the classroom as well. Gross, Rieger, Riely, Thomas, sophomore Savannah Gazda, sophomore Kela Jagoda, sophomore Kaila Nutter, and sophomore Abbey Rzeszutko all received UAA All-Academic recognition.
The Spartans earned the following honors during the 2022 season:
The following were the Spartans statistical leaders during the season:
