The Case Western Reserve University baseball team secured a series win against 24th-ranked Washington University (Mo.) with a split of a doubleheader in St. Louis on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans claimed an 11-9 win in the first game of the day before suffering a 14-1 loss in seven innings in the second game.

CWRU stands at 14-8 overall and 3-1 in University Athletic Association games, while the Bears also stand at 14-8 with a 1-3 conference mark.

Graduate student catcher Jack Anderson collected another hit on Saturday to move into a tie for first place in program history with former Spartan Chad Mullins (2008-11) with 263 career hits.

Game 1 - CWRU 11, #24 WashU 9

CWRU took an early lead and turned away a late rally by the Bears to hold on for an 11-9 win in the first game of the day on Saturday.
 

The Spartans broke through for a pair of runs in the top of the second inning when graduate student second baseman Franco Alonso scored on an error and senior left fielder Logan Andreyko plated graduate student designated hitter Dane Camphausen with a single. Anderson was hit by a pitch to lead off the third and senior right fielder Nick Harms followed with a single. A batter later, sophomore first baseman Tyler Stillson drove in Anderson with a single to extend CWRU's lead to 3-0. After an error on a double steal, Harms crossed the plate to add to the Spartans lead and a run-scoring groundout by Camphausen put CWRU in front 5-0 heading into the bottom of the third.

The Bears scored a pair of runs in both the third and fourth innings to trim the Spartans' lead to just a run. A sacrifice fly from Alonso in the fifth scored Harms and extended CWRU's advantage to 6-4, but the Bears scored again on a solo home run in the bottom of the inning to pull back within a run. In the sixth, a sacrifice fly from graduate student third baseman Zack Carinci increased CWRU's lead back to two runs, 7-5, but the Bears had an answer again, scoring single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to tie the game at 7-7 heading into the eighth.

CWRU wasted little time taking the lead back, loading the bases with nobody out in the top of the eighth. Carinci followed with a single to right field to put the Spartans back in front by a run and sophomore shortstop Nate Arterburn followed with an RBI fielder's choice to put CWRU ahead 9-7. Later in the inning, Stillson drove in a pair of runs with a bases-loading two-out single, putting CWRU in front 11-7.

The Bears went on to score a pair of runs in the ninth and loaded the bases with two outs, but Anderson shut the door after moving from catcher to the mound earlier in the inning, striking out the final batter of the game to lock down his fourth save of the season.

Stillson finished the game two-for-five with three RBIs, a run, and a stolen base, while Harms went two-for-three with two runs and two stolen bases.

CWRU junior Austin McGowan earned the win in relief, improving to 1-1 on the season. WashU's Owen Block suffered the loss, dropping to 0-2 on the season.

Game 2 - #24 WashU 14, CWRU 1 (7 inn.)

The Spartans struggled to get anything going in the second game of the day, falling 14-1 in seven innings to the Bears.

WashU grabbed a 4-0 lead after two innings before the Spartans got on the board on an RBI groundout by first-year right fielder Mason Nemec in the third. However, WashU pulled away with four runs in the bottom of the third and added six runs in the fifth to go ahead 14-1. The Spartans would be unable to muster any further offense and the game ended after seven frames due to the 10-run rule.

Carinci collected two of the Spartans' six hits in the game while Harms went one-for-four with a double.

Senior right-handed pitcher Kyle Gearding started and suffered the loss, dropping to 0-3, while Block earned the win in his second relief appearance of the day, improving to 1-2.

The Spartans will continue conference play next weekend when the team plays its first games of the season at Nobby's Ballpark, welcoming Emory University to Cleveland for a four-game series from April 4-6.

Spartan Notes

• The Spartans have now won seven consecutive UAA series dating back to the 2023 campaign.

• CWRU is now 11-4 in its last 15 games against WashU. The Spartans improved to 34-45 all-time against the Bears. This is the Spartans' third trip to St. Louis since the start of site play in 2017.

• CWRU improved to 4-1 against nationally-ranked teams this season, including an 8-3 win over 16th-ranked Baldwin Wallace on March 9. 

• Harms finished his career batting .439 (22-57) with 11 home runs, 20 RBIs, and 22 runs scored in 16 games against WashU.