The 13th-ranked Case Western Reserve University softball team opened a three-game University Athletic Association series with the University of Chicago by shutting out the Maroons 1-0 on Friday afternoon at Mather Park in Cleveland.

The Spartans improved to 20-8 on the season with their sixth consecutive win and 7-3 in UAA play. With conference leader WashU (9-1 UAA) also winning on Friday, CWRU remained two games back in the league standings. The Maroons fell to 14-14 overall and 3-7 in conference play.

The only run of the game came on a solo home run by senior catcher Katelyn Lamm to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning. It was her third homer of the season and the seventh of her career. Lamm went two-for-two in the game with the home run and a double.

Neither team was able to score in the first two innings, despite each having a runner on second base with less than two outs.

With help from a caught stealing by Lamm, senior pitcher Lexi Miskey worked around a walk and a hit in the third inning to keep the Maroons off the board. Through the first three innings, Miskey struck out six batters, while her counterpart in the circle, Paige Heffke, faced the minimum through the first three frames despite allowing a hit and a walk.

Miskey (13-3) tossed five scoreless innings to earn the win in the circle, striking out eight while allowing two hits and four walks. She gave way to senior hurler Kylie Hosey in the circle to start the sixth inning. Chicago led off the frame with a walk and moved the runner into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. A groundout pushed the runner to third base, but Hosey preserved the shutout with a strikeout.

Hosey retired the side in order in the final frame to secure the win. She earned her fifth save of the season and the ninth save of her career, setting both the CWRU single-season and career records. Hosey pitched two scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts, extending her hitless innings streak to nine.

Heffke (10-7) suffered the tough luck loss, allowing one run on three hits and a walk in six innings. She recorded one strikeout and threw just 61 pitches.

Graduate student infielder KaiLi Gross hit a two-out double in the fourth inning for the only other CWRU hit in the game. It was the 56th two-base hit of her career, breaking a tie for the program record she held with former Spartan Nicole Doyle.

The two teams are scheduled to conclude their series with a doubleheader on Saturday, currently scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Fans are encouraged to check athletics.case.edu and the CWRU Athletics social media accounts for any updates to the schedule due to inclement weather.

Spartan Notes

• CWRU improved to 12-9 in the all-time series between the two schools that dates back to 1996, winning the last nine games. Chicago's last win in the series came during the 2017 season
• In the latest NCAA Power Index (NPI) rankings, which are used to determine at-large selections and seeding in the NCAA Championship, CWRU ranked 17th and Chicago ranked 103rd
• Lamm threw out two base runners attempting to steal for the first time in her career, increasing her season total to 11
• With the double and home run, Lamm recorded her ninth multi-hit game this season, third-most on the team
• The shutout was the fifth of the season for Case Western Reserve and the third for the team in conference play
• The Spartans improved to 6-5 in one-run games in 2025 and 3-3 in conference contests decided by just a single run
• Hosey broke a tie with Rebecca Taylor for the program record for most career saves (eight) and saves in a single season (four)
• CWRU won its 20th game in a season for the 13th consecutive non-shortened campaign in a streak dating back to 2012