The 21st-ranked Case Western Reserve University baseball team split a doubleheader on Friday with Brandeis University, losing 6-4 in the first game before bouncing back for a 10-1 win in the second contest of the day in Waltham, Massachusetts.

The Spartans stand at 12-5-1 in University Athletic Association play following the split and remained in first place in the conference standings with two games left to play. CWRU currently sits ahead of Chicago, which was idle on Friday due to rain and stands at 10-6 in UAA games, and Emory, which lost to WashU in extra innings on Friday to drop to 10-7 in league play. CWRU can clinch the UAA title with wins in the final two games of the series against Brandeis or one win and a rainout, regardless of what Chicago or Emory do in their final conference games of the year.

CWRU now stands at 23-12-1 overall this season, while Brandeis is 11-25 with a 3-15 UAA record.

Game 1 - Brandeis 6, #21 CWRU 4

The Spartans outhit the Judges 13-9 in the opening game of the series but left 14 batters on the basepaths before falling 6-4.

A sacrifice fly from senior right fielder Jay Smith gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, but Brandeis responded with a run in the bottom of the inning to even the score. CWRU took the lead back in the fourth on a two-out RBI single by graduate student catcher Jack Anderson, but the Judges once again evened the score in the bottom of the frame, this time on a solo home run that knotted the score at 2-2.

The Spartans had a chance to add on further to their score but left the bases loaded in both the fourth and sixth innings and the score remained tied at two apiece until the bottom of the sixth when Brandeis took the lead on a two-out, two-run double. Three-straight two-out singles in the top of the seventh, capped off by a run-scoring hit by senior left fielder Logan Andreyko, trimmed the Judges lead to 4-3, but Brandeis responded again with two more runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 6-3 lead after seven. CWRU got a run back in the eighth on an RBI single from graduate student first baseman Dane Camphausen and brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but could not even the score.

Anderson finished the game three-for-four with a run, an RBI, a walk, and two stolen bases. Graduate student second baseman Franco Alonso, sophomore pitcher/designated hitter Tyler Stillson, and Andreyko each added a pair of hits in the contest, and every Spartan position player reached base at least once in the loss. All 13 of the team's hits in the game were singles.

CWRU reliever Archer Stankowski suffered his first loss of the season, dropping to 6-1 on the season, while Brandeis' Cooper Gavin earned the win to improve to 2-1.

Game 2 - #21 CWRU 10, Brandeis 1

CWRU sophomore southpaw Quinn Saunders held Brandeis hitless through the first five and a third of the second game of the doubleheader as the Spartans cruised to a 10-1 win over the Judges.

Saunders held Brandeis scoreless over his six and two-thirds innings of work, allowing just two hits and three walks while striking out seven batters. He allowed just one base runner to reach through the first five innings, issuing a walk to lead off the third, and did not give up a hit until one out in the fifth. Saunders secured the win to improve to 2-1 on the season while lowering his ERA to 3.66.

Saunders was backed by a pair of early runs for the Spartans, who scored two in the first on an RBI single by Camphausen and a run-scoring ground out by graduate student third baseman Zack Carinci. A sacrifice fly by Anderson in the fourth extended the Spartans' lead to 3-0 before a two-RBI double in the fifth from Alonso made it 5-0. Alonso later came around to score a run on an error, pushing the CWRU advantage to six runs.

In the eighth, sophomore shortstop Nate Arterburn scored on an error and CWRU added runs on sacrifice flies by Carinci and Alonso to push the lead to 9-0. First-year righty Ayush Shetty allowed the only run of his outing in the bottom of the eighth, but CWRU got it back in the top of the ninth on a run-scoring single by first-year Mason Nemec. After walking the leadoff batter in the ninth, Shetty struck out the next three batters to finish off the win for the Spartans.

Shetty struck out six batters in his two-and-a-third innings of work, allowing just one run on two hits and a walk. Anderson finished the game two-for-three with two runs, an RBI, two walks, and three stolen bases. Stillson added a three-for-five showing at the plate with a stolen base, while Alonso went one-for-four with a run, three RBIs, and a double. Camphausen finished the contest two-for-three with a run, an RBI, and a pair of walks. The Spartans finished the second game with 13 hits while holding Brandeis to just four and stole six bases on as many attempts.

Brandeis' Andrew Tringe suffered the loss, dropping to 1-3 for the season.

The Spartans and the Judges are scheduled to continue their series on Saturday at noon. However, with rain in the forecast throughout the day, please make sure to check athletics.case.edu for any further adjustments to the schedule for the weekend.

Spartan Notes

• The Spartans now stand at 35-27 all-time against Brandeis and have won 13 of the last 15 meetings. CWRU is 22–4 against the Judges since the start of site play in 2017.

• In his last three outings, spanning 4.1 innings, Shetty has struck out 10 of the 15 batters he has faced.

• CWRU stole nine bases on as many tries over the two games on Friday and has now been successful on its last 25 stolen base attempts over the last six contests.