In a matchup of top-10 teams, the Case Western Reserve University softball team, ranked third in Division III, dropped both games of a doubleheader at the ninth-ranked University of Redlands on Wednesday, losing the first game 8-6 before falling 10-2 in five innings in the late game.

The Spartans, who have lost three in a row and four of their last five, dropped to 7-5 on the season with the two losses, while Redlands raised its record to 15-2.

Game 1 - Redlands 8, CWRU 6

The Spartans could not make an early two-run lead hold up in an 8-6 loss to the Bulldogs in the first game of the day.

The Spartans surrendered a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning but got one back in the top of the second when sophomore Kaelyn Zusi led the inning off with a single and was pinch run for by sophomore Alaina Steffes, who moved to second on a sacrifice, to third on a ground out, and scored on a two-out RBI single from first-year Lacey Lara. Sophomore Nylah Durham and graduate student KaiLi Gross started the top of the third with back-to-back singles and sophomore Karen Potts drove them both home with a double to give CWRU its first lead of the game, 3-2. Potts crossed the plate on an error a batter later, putting the Spartans in front 4-2 heading into the bottom of the third, but Redlands responded with four runs in the frame, retaking the lead, 6-4.

The Bulldogs added two more runs in the fifth before the Spartans scored twice in the top of the sixth on an RBI double by Gross and a run-scoring groundout from Potts. A leadoff walk drawn by Zusi to start the seventh brought the tying run to the plate for the Spartans and an error put two on without any outs, but CWRU was unable to plate the equalizer.

Potts finished the game one-for-three with a double and three RBIs and Gross added a three-for-four showing with two doubles, a run, and an RBI.

Senior Lexi Miskey suffered her first loss of the season, dropping to 5-1 after yielding eight runs on nine hits and five walks with three strikeouts. Junior Devanghi Misra pitched the final inning and a third and did not allow a run on one hit. The Bulldogs' Katlyn Gandara earned the win, improving to 6-2, while Brianna Garcia picked up her first save of the campaign.

Game 2 - Redlands 10, CWRU 2 (5 inn.)

CWRU jumped out to another early lead in the second game, but Redlands responded with 10 unanswered runs to claim a 10-2 win over the Spartans and complete the sweep of the doubleheader.

The Spartans loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first and went on to score two runs in the frame on a pair of errors by the Bulldogs. However, Redlands tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the first and scored three in the second to go ahead 5-2. The Bulldogs added three more in the third and a single run in each of the fourth and fifth innings to put an early end to the game.

The Spartans managed just two hits in the game - a first-inning double by senior Isabella Russo and a second-inning single from Durham.

Senior Kylie Hosey suffered the loss, falling to 2-4 on the campaign. Redlands' Paige Ellinger picked up the win to improve to 3-0.

The Spartans will continue their West Coast swing tomorrow when the team faces Haverford and Whitter in Whittier, California starting at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Spartan Notes

• Gross now has 213 career hits, placing her five away from Molly O'Brien's (2012-15) CWRU career record.

• Wednesday's games were the first-ever meeting between the Spartans and the Bulldogs.

• The Spartans' last five-inning loss before Wednesday was a 13-0 setback against Concordia Wisconsin in the 2022 NCAA Regionals.