The seventh-ranked Case Western Reserve University softball team extended its winning streak to seven games with a sweep of Muskingum University and the College of Wooster on Sunday at Galpin Park in Wooster, Ohio. CWRU defeated Muskingum 3-1 to start the day before taking down the host Fighting Scots 7-4.
With the sweep, the Spartans improved to 15-2 on the season. The Fighting Muskies dropped to 13-5, and the Scots fell to 6-10.
#7 CWRU 3, Muskingum 1
Muskingum scored without the benefit of a hit before Case Western Reserve came to bat, turning a leadoff walk into a 1-0 advantage.
The Spartans, playing as the home team at the neutral site, responded in the bottom of the second inning. Sophomore infielder Elizabeth Berry led off the frame with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Berry scored on a passed ball, tying the score at one.
Both teams had a runner in scoring position in the third and fourth innings but were unable to capitalize. Muskingum began the fifth inning with a double, but junior pitcher Lexi Miskey kept the score tied with a popout and a pair of strikeouts.
The top of the Spartan lineup put two runners on base for senior infielder KaiLi Gross in the bottom of the fifth inning. Gross delivered a go-ahead two-run double to left center field, plating both senior outfielder Kela Jagoda and first-year infielder Karen Potts.
Miskey worked around singles in the final two innings, allowing CWRU to hold on for the win. She improved to 9-2 in the circle, allowing just one run on five hits with 10 strikeouts, her fourth double-digit strikeout performance of the season.
As a team, the Spartans drew six walks in the game, with Jagoda and Potts each earning a pair of free passes. First-year outfielder Alaina Steffes collected two of the team's five hits.
#7 CWRU 7, Wooster 4
Case Western Reserve scored a run in each of the first two innings to claim an early 2-0 lead over the host Scots. Senior outfielder Stevie Rieger delivered a two-out run-scoring single in the first inning, and senior Savannah Gazda came off the bench in the second inning for a two-out pinch-hit double.
Wooster took advantage of a CWRU error and a passed ball in the bottom of the third inning, putting three runs across in the frame to take a 3-2 lead.
Following a scoreless fourth inning, the Spartans scored three times in the fifth inning to reclaim the lead. For the second consecutive game, Gross delivered a two-run go-ahead double, plating Jagoda and Potts to give CWRU a 4-3 advantage. A double by Steffes scored Gross to make the score 5-3.
Wooster responded with a run in the bottom of the inning, chasing starting pitcher Kylie Hosey from the game. Miskey entered the contest in relief and secured a double play to end the threat.
Hosey, who earned the win in the circle to improve to 6-0, allowed three earned runs on four hits and two walks in four and one-third innings. Miskey earned her first save of the season, pitching two and two-third scoreless, hitless innings to seal the win.
Junior infielder Isabella Russo scored on a groundout by Jagoda in the sixth inning to extend the team's lead to two. Berry drove in a key insurance run in the final frame, sending Rieger home on a single to center field.
Rieger had the third three-hit game of her career, and her second this season, going three-for-four at the plate with a run scored and a run driven in. Gross, who extended her hitting streak to 10 games in the second contest, collected two hits, two runs batted in, and two runs scored. Russo also had a two-hit day for the Spartan offense, scoring twice in two at-bats.
Case Western Reserve will begin conference play this weekend, welcoming University Athletic Association foe NYU to Mather Park for a four-game series starting on Friday, March 29 at 3 p.m. The two teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 12 p.m. and a single game on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m.
