The seventh-ranked Case Western Reserve University softball team split a pair of games at the Fortune Road Athletic Complex in Kissimmee, Florida, on Tuesday at The Spring Games, falling to Swarthmore College 3-1 but defeating Haverford College, 8-4.
The Spartans moved to 9-2 following the games, while the Garnet improved to 6-4 and the Fords dropped to 2-4.
Swarthmore 4, #7 CWRU 1
CWRU started the scoring in the top of the third inning, pushing across an unearned run in the frame. Sophomore Elizabeth Berry earned a leadoff walk and reached second on a sacrifice bunt. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, she scored on a Swarthmore fielding error.
The Garnet responded in the bottom of the inning, scoring twice with only one hit to take a 2-1 lead. They added runs in the fifth and sixth innings, each on two-out singles to increase their lead.
In the top of the sixth, Swarthmore quelled a Spartan rally by getting the last out of the inning at home plate.
Junior Lexi Miskey (4-2) and senior Jenna Jaklich each pitched three innings in the loss, allowing two runs apiece. Miskey struck out five batters, while Jaklich induced three whiffs.
Offensively, five Spartans collected hits in the contest, including first-year Karen Potts, who extended her season-starting hitting streak to 10 games. Berry drew a pair of walks in the contest.
Lane Barron (2-0) picked up the win in the circle for Swarthmore, allowing one unearned run on five hits and two walks.
#7 CWRU 8, Haverford 4
Senior Stevie Rieger doubled for the first of her three hits in the first inning, moving Potts to third. Potts scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of senior KaiLi Gross, giving the Spartans a 1-0 lead.
CWRU added four runs in the second inning to claim a 5-0 advantage. With two outs, first-year Nylah Durham extended the inning and put runners on the corners with a single, her third hit in as many games. Junior Isabella Russo scored on an error on the following play, Potts singled home a run to extend the lead and her hitting streak, and Rieger added a pair of runs with her second double.
The Fords cut into the deficit in the fifth inning, loading the bases with no outs and scoring a run with an infield single. However, Jaklich, who came on in relief, escaped with no further harm after inducing a groundout and line out. Haverford added a pair of runs in the sixth inning to make the score 5-3, but the Spartans responded with three runs in the bottom half of the inning to reclaim their five-run lead.
Russo began the stretch with a run-scoring single. With two outs and the bases loaded, Potts singled to plate two more runners and extend the lead to five heading into the final frame.
A Haverford rally in the last inning came up short after just one run scored. Miskey came into the game to record the final two outs, striking out both batters she faced.
Junior Kylie Hosey (4-0) earned the win in the circle, allowing just one run on six hits in four innings. She struck out two batters.
CWRU totaled 10 hits in the game with five coming off the bats of Rieger and Potts. Potts had her fourth multi-hit game of the season, and Rieger matched a career high with three hits.
Following an off day on Wednesday, the Spartans will resume play at The Spring Games on Thursday, facing SUNY Geneseo at 9 a.m. and Gettysburg at 11:15 a.m. at the Fortune Road Athletic Complex
