The Case Western Reserve University baseball team split its conference-opening doubleheader in St. Louis on Saturday afternoon, defeating Washington University (Mo.) 5-4 in the first game of the day, before suffering a 10-0 loss in seven innings to the Bears in the second game of the day.

With the split, the Spartans now stand at 9-7 on the year, while the Bears moved to 14-5 for the year.

Game 1 – CWRU 5, WashU 4
Sophomore outfielder Nick Harms hit his third home run of the season to give the Spartans a lead in the fifth inning and junior Patrick O'Connor closed out the win with three strong innings of relief work, as CWRU opened their four-game series with the Bears with a 5-4 win.

Junior designated hitter Zack Carinci went two-for-three with a double and two runs batted in and senior catcher Jack Anderson added a two-for-four showing with two runs, two RBIs, and a walk in the game.

The Spartans loaded the bases with less than two outs in each of the first two innings of the game, but only ended up with two runs to show for it. The first three batters of the game all reached to load the bases for the Spartans in the top of the first and CWRU took a 1-0 lead on a one-out run-scoring single by senior outfielder Kevin Mackenzie. In the second, a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Carinci scored junior third baseman Tim Demetris and extended the Spartans' lead to 2-0.

Meanwhile, CWRU junior starter Reece Marley worked around trouble in each of the first two innings, leaving runners stranded in scoring position in each frame to preserve the Spartan lead, but the Bears were able to plate three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 3-2 lead.

CWRU answered back in the top of the fourth when sophomore outfielder Logan Andreyko was hit by a pitch with one out, stole second, and scored on a two-out single by Anderson to tie the score at 3-3. After a scoreless bottom of the inning, Harms led off the top of the fifth with a solo home run over the centerfield wall, his fifth in as many career games against WashU.

In the top of the seventh, back-to-back walks issued to Anderson and Harms were followed by an RBI double from Carinci to extend the team's lead to 5-3.

After allowing the three runs in the third, Marley did not allow another hit over his final three innings of work and finished the game with three runs allowed on eight hits and two walks with six strikeouts. O'Connor pitched scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, before allowing an unearned run to score in the ninth. With the potential game-tying run on first and two outs, the Bears attempted to steal second, but Anderson threw the runner out to end the game.

Marley earned the win in the game to improve to 2-0 on the season, while O'Connor secured his third save of the year. WashU starter Matt Lopes suffered the loss to drop to 2-2.

Game 2 – WashU 10, CWRU 0 (7 innings)
CWRU fell behind in the first inning of the second game of the day, and the Bears tacked on seven runs over the final three innings of the game to beat the Spartans 10-0 in seven innings.

The Spartans' offense had chances in the game, putting runners on the corners in the first and loading the bases in the third with one out, but double plays ended each of the threats. Graduate student Evan Faxon surrendered a two-run home run in the bottom of the first, a single run in the third, and two more in the fifth, as the Bears jumped out to a 6-0 advantage. WashU added a run in the sixth and then forced an early end to the game with three more runs in the seventh.

Senior third baseman Owen Levinson had two of the Spartans' five hits in the game, going two-for-three in the contest. Anderson added a one-for-two showing with a double and two walks, and Carinci went one-for-one with a pair of walks as well.

Despite allowing just two earned runs in the game, Faxon was handed the loss for the Spartans to fall to 0-2 on the year, while WashU's Will Henkel pitched the complete-game shutout to improve to 4-0.

The Spartans and the Bears will conclude their four-game season series tomorrow with a doubleheader starting at 12:00 p.m. ET at Kelly Field in St. Louis.