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Scoreboard

Case Western Reserve University Athletics
Case Western Reserve University Athletics

Scoreboard

Oliver Miller pitching against Johnson & Wales
8
Winner Case Western Reserve CWRU 18-9, 7-2 UAA
6
Chicago UCHI 20-7, 7-2 UAA
Winner
Case Western Reserve CWRU
18-9, 7-2 UAA
8
Final
6
Chicago UCHI
20-7, 7-2 UAA
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E
Case Western Reserve CWRU 2 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 8 10 3
Chicago UCHI 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 10 0

W: Miller, Oliver (3-1) L: J. Butka (0-3)

Game Recap: Baseball |

#24 Spartans Vault into First Place in UAA with 11-Inning Win at #21 Chicago

Case Western Reserve University senior right fielder Nick Harms hit a pair of home runs, including a game-winning blast with two outs in the top of the 11th inning, and first-year right-handed pitcher Oliver Miller pitched five scoreless innings of relief to give the 24th-ranked Spartans an 8-6 season-opening win over the 21st-ranked University of Chicago in Chicago on Friday afternoon.

The win moves the two teams into a first-place tie for the lead in the University Athletic Association with each holding a 7-2 ledger in league play with three more meetings scheduled to occur between the two squads over the next two days. The Spartans improved to 18-9 overall while Chicago fell to 20-7.

Harms bookended the game with a pair of two-run home runs, giving CWRU the lead in the first inning after sending one over the wall to put the team on top 2-0 and breaking a 6-6 tie in the bottom of the 11th with his second longball of the contest and team-leading 10th of the campaign. He finished the day three-for-four at the plate with a double, the two home runs, two runs scored, four runs batted in, and two walks.

Graduate student center fielder Jack Anderson added a two-for-four day at the plate with a walk, an RBI, and two runs scored to give him 196 for his career, moving him past former Spartan Matt Keen (2010-13) for the program's record. Sophomore shortstop Nate Arterburn added a one-for-four performance with two RBIs.

CWRU took a 2-0 lead just two batters into the game when Andweaon walked to lead off the game and Harms with a home run against Chicago starter Drew Bryan, a former All-American. However, Chicago responded with three runs in the bottom of the first against CWRU right-handed starter Tyler Stillson to go ahead 3-2.

Both starting pitchers settled in after the first, and the score remained 3-2 until the top of the fifth, when graduate student third baseman Zack Carinci led off with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored a batter later on a single by Arterburn. A hit by Anderson put runners at second and third, and after an intentional walk to Harms loaded the bases, graduate student second baseman Franco Alonso drove in Arterburn with a sacrifice fly to give CWRU the lead back, 4-3. Once again though, Chicago responded quickly, scoring three more in the bottom of the fifth to regain a 6-4 advantage heading into the sixth.

CWRU loaded the bases again with nobody out in the sixth before Arterburn followed with a sacrifice fly to cut the Maroons' lead to a run and another sacrifice fly from Anderson knotted the score at 6-6 again.

Stillson, who pitched the first six innings of the game and allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits and a walk while striking out seven, struck out the side in order in the sixth to end his day. He turned the game over to Miller who held the Maroons off the board over the next five innings, allowing just three hits and striking out a career-high seven batters.

The score remained tied through regulation and into extra innings. With the game still knotted at six runs apiece and two outs in the 11th, Anderson singled to shortstop to extend the inning and Harms followed with what would eventually be the game-winning home run. Miller retired the side in order in the bottom of the inning to close out the win, improving to 3-1 on the year with a 3.12 ERA.

Chicago reliever John Butka suffered the loss, dropping to 0-3 for the season.

The Spartans and the Maroons will continue their four-game series on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m. ET in Chicago.

Spartan Notes

  • The NCAA released the first NPI rankings of the 2025 season earlier in the week, which are used to determine the at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament. With 23 at-large bids available this year, teams that finish the season ranked among the top-23 teams in NPI should be guaranteed a spot in the postseason. CWRU entered this weekend ranked 12th in the NPI rankings while Chicago was 11th.

  • With his two home runs on Friday, Harms became the first player in program history to reach 40 career home runs as a Spartan. He also became just the second player in program history to eclipse 150 career RBIs. He extended his hitting streak to 24 games, the longest by a Spartan this season, and is now batting .438 with 10 home runs and 39 RBIs this season.

  • This is the third time this season and the fifth time in his career that Harms has hit multiple home runs in a game.

  • CWRU improved to 5-1 against teams ranked in the D3baseball.com Top 25 at the time of the game this season.

  • The Spartans have now won five straight games against Chicago, including a sweep in Cleveland last year. CWRU has won 14 of the last 16 games between the two teams and stands at 19-16-1 all-time against the Maroons. This was the Spartans' first time playing the Maroons in Chicago since the 2009 campaign.

  • In addition to setting the run record, Anderson is also two total bases away from Chad Mullins' (2008-11) program record of 393 career total bases.

  • CWRU stands at 2-0 in extra-inning games this season. CWRU had previously bested Wittenberg 12-11 in 11 innings on March 14.

  • Stillson and Miller combined to strike out 15 batters, tied for the sixth-most in a game in program history.

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