Case Western Reserve University sophomore first baseman Tyler Stillson belted three home runs on Saturday as the Spartans wrapped up play at the Marietta/ BSN Sports Invitational with a 16-4 win in seven innings over Johnson and Wales University in the first game before falling to host Marietta College 10-3 in the second contest of the day.

The Spartans, who received votes in the latest D3baseball.com Top-25, increased their winning streak to seven games before the stretch came to a close in the late contest. CWRU moved to 10-5 on the season following Saturday's results.

Game 1 - CWRU 16, Johnson & Wales 4 (7 inn.)

Stillson hit two home runs and first-year designated hitter Mason Nemec drove in five runs in his college debut as the Spartans scored a season-high 16 runs and bested Johnson & Wales University 16-4 in their opening game on Saturday.

Stillson finished the game three-for-four with three runs, four RBIs, and two home runs, the first multiple-home run game of his career. Nemec added a two-for-four day at the plate with two doubles, two runs, and five runs batted in. Adding multiple hit games against the Wildcats include graduate student center fielder Jack Anderson (two-for-four, two runs, and a walk), senior left fielder Logan Andreyko (two-for-three, three runs, one walk, and a stolen base), junior catcher Sean Donahue (two-for-three with three runs, two walks, and two stolen bases), and junior second baseman Jasiah Harris (two-for-four with two runs and three RBIs). CWRU outhit Johnson & Wales 16-6 in the game.

CWRU took the lead two batters into the game when Anderson led the game off with a single and scored a batter later on a triple by senior right fielder Nick Harms. Stillson followed with a single to plate Harms, and later crossed the plate himself on an error to extend the team's lead to 3-0 in the first. Later in the inning, a groundout by Harris scored junior catcher Sean Donahue from third and gave CWRU a four-run lead heading into the bottom of the inning.

The Wildcats scored a run in the bottom of the inning off CWRU first-year right-handed pitcher Armand Ortiz, who made his first career start and left the game with nobody out and two on, giving way to junior righty Archer Stankowski. Stankowski got a flyout and then worked his way out of the inning by starting a one-two-three double play to minimize the damage in the frame.

A one-out solo home run in the third by Stillson, his third of the year, extended CWRU's lead to 5-1. The Spartans continued to build on their lead with an RBI single from Harris, a run-scoring fielder's choice by Nemec, and an RBI double from graduate student third baseman Zack Carinci, putting CWRU in front 8-1 by the middle of the third. In the fourth, Stillson's second home run of the day, a two-run blast, and another RBI groundout by Harris extended the CWRU lead to 11-1. Nemec added an RBI double later in the inning, the first hit of his career, to give the Spartans an 11-run advantage.

Stankowski ran into trouble in the fourth inning, allowing two runs as Johnson & Wales trimmed the lead to 12-3, but that would be all he would yield in his five innings on the hill. Meanwhile, a bases-loaded double by Nemec in the sixth scored three and Nemec later scored a run of his own on a sacrifice fly from sophomore shortstop Nate Arterburn to put CWRU ahead 16-3. The Wildcats scored a run in the bottom of the sixth, but that would be as close as they would get, as CWRU forced an early ending to the game, winning by the 10-run rule after seven innings.

Stankowski allowed two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out three to earn the win and improve to 2-0 for the campaign. First-year southpaw Jeff Radinsky retired all four batters he faced, including one via strikeout, to close out the win.

Johnson & Wales starter Brett Nickerson took the loss, falling to 0-2 on the year. The Wildcats dropped to 4-8 overall with the loss.

Game 2 - Marietta 10, CWRU 3

The Spartans struggled to maintain their offense after scoring two runs in the top of the first as CWRU dropped its second game of the day 10-3 to Marietta, which received votes in the latest D3baseball.com Top-25 poll.

The Spartans took the early lead against Marietta with back-to-back home runs with one out from Harms and Stillson in the top of the first inning. It was the fifth home run of the season for each. Marietta responded with two runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the game, and the score remained 2-2 until the top of the third when the Spartans loaded the bases with nobody out and scored a run with one out on an RBI groundout by Andreyko. However, CWRU scored just one run in the frame and the Pioneers scored three in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-3 advantage.

CWRU left-handed starter Charlie Griffith went the first three and two-thirds innings in the game allowing five runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts and left with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth. First-year right-handed pitcher Eric Colgrove recorded the final out of the fourth without a run crossing the plate, but allowed two runs (one earned) in the fifth as Marietta extended its advantage to 7-3. The Pioneers added three runs in the bottom of the eighth to push their lead to seven runs and put the game out of reach for the Spartans in the top of the ninth.

CWRU used five pitchers in the game, including scoreless outings for both sophomore southpaw Quinn Saunders and first-year righty Ayush Shetty. Griffith suffered the loss for the Spartans, dropping to 2-1 on the year.

Forrest Havanis, who pitched six scoreless innings in relief, earned the win in the game, raising his record to 2-0 for the campaign. Marietta improved to 9-4 with the win, as the Pioneers ran their winning streak to five games.

With Saturday's results, the Spartans finished their spring break trip with a 7-2 record. CWRU will now return home to Cleveland where the team will be off until next Sunday, March 23 when the squad will make the trip across town to face John Carroll University in a doubleheader starting at 

Spartan Notes

• Two Spartans collected their first collegiate hit on Saturday. Nemec notched his first career hit with a fourth-inning double, while sophomore Tommy Moonan registered a pinch-hit double in the seventh inning for the first hit of his career.

• Anderson hit safely in both games to extend his hitting streak to 27 straight games dating back to last season. He totaled four hits on Saturday and now has 254 for his career, six behind the program record of 263 currently held by former Spartan Chad Mullins (2008-11). 

• CWRU and Johnson & Wales had not faced each other prior to Saturday's meeting.

• Saturday's game was the first time CWRU has faced Marietta since an 8-3 loss at the 2023 NCAA Tournament. CWRU fell to 5-13 against Marietta since 2013.