The Case Western Reserve University baseball team nearly overcame a late three-run deficit, but ultimately fell short in a 6-5 loss to SUNY Cortland at Lexington Country Stadium in Lexington, South Carolina on Tuesday afternoon.

The Spartans fell to 5-5 on the season with the loss while Cortland improved to 6-7 with the win.

CWRU's loss came despite a strong start from junior southpaw Reece Marley, who held the Red Dragons to three runs on three hits with three walks and matched his career high with nine strikeouts over seven innings in a no-decision.

Senior catcher Jack Anderson went two-for-five with two doubles, a run, and an RBI, and now has nine doubles through 10 games this season, while batting a team-high .475. Junior third baseman Zack Carinci added a two-for-five performance with an RBI, and sophomore outfielder Nick Harms went one-for-four with his second home run of the season.

Cortland took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first and held the advantage until Harms led off the fourth with a home run to tie the score. In the fifth, first-year second baseman Jasiah Harris singled with one out and Anderson followed with a run-scoring double to give the Spartans their first lead of the game. Two batters later, Carinci drove in Anderson with a single to put CWRU ahead 3-1.

After allowing the run in the first, Marley faced the minimum over the next four innings and allowed just two hits through the first six innings. However, he issued a leadoff walk in the seventh and allowed a game-tying two-run home run with one out to Adam Mieczkowski, leaving the game after seven innings with the score knotted at 3-3.

CWRU had a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the seventh after Anderson led the frame off with a double and moved to third on a groundout, but was thrown out at home trying to score on a ground ball to second base. Cortland took the lead in the top of the eighth with three unearned runs off reliever Patrick O'Connor, taking a 6-3 advantage.

The Spartans chipped away at the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Back-to-back one-out pinch-hit doubles by sophomore Logan Andreyko and senior RJ Christie put runners at second and third with one out. Andreyko crossed the plate on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly by senior outfielder Kevin Mackenzie made it a 6-5 score heading into the ninth. A hit by Carinci and an error put the potential game-tying and game-winning runs on the basepaths with one out, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the game.

O'Connor suffered the loss to fall to 1-1 on the year. Anthony Fusco earned the win in relief for Cortland, improving to 1-1, while Justin Patsey recorded the final four outs to claim his first save of the year.

The Spartans outhit Cortland for the second-straight game, finishing the game with a 10-6 advantage.

The Spartans will be back in action on Thursday afternoon with a doubleheader at Adrian College starting at 2 PM.