The 17th-ranked Case Western Reserve University softball team split a pair of games on the second day of the Regional Round of the 2025 NCAA Division III Softball Championship, losing an eight-inning contest to the 15th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 7-6 before defeating Lebanon Valley College 7-1 in an elimination game on Friday afternoon at Mather Park in Cleveland.

The Spartans (30-11) will face the Warhawks (37-6) in the regional final on Saturday at 11 a.m. CWRU needs a victory in the game to force winner-take-all game seven at 1:30 p.m. The Flying Dutchmen ended their season with a record of 30-15.

Senior catcher Katelyn Lamm went six-for-six in the two games, including the first four-hit game of her career in the second game, to lead the Case Western Reserve offense. Senior infielder Isabella Russo and junior infielder Elizabeth Berry both had three hits on the day, as did graduate student infielder KaiLi Gross, who tied the program career home run record.

Game 3: (1) Wisconsin-Whitewater 7, (2) CWRU 6 (8 inn.)

An error put the go-ahead run aboard for CWRU to lead off extra innings. A sacrifice bunt moved the runner into scoring position, but a flyout and a popout kept the score tied. Whitewater, playing as the home team, followed a leadoff walk with a one-out double, putting the winning run at third base with one out. The Warhawks walked off the Spartans on a single by Auburn Roberson, sending the host school to an elimination game later in the day.

With Case Western Reserve trailing 6-4 entering the seventh inning, sophomore outfielder Nylah Durham led off the frame with a walk, bringing up the top of the CWRU order with the tying run at the plate. Berry singled with one out, and aggressive baserunning by the Spartans pushed two runners into scoring position. Gross delivered a sacrifice fly to cut into the deficit, and Lamm walked on four pitches to keep the inning alive. Russo drove a double to left-center field, scoring the tying run. However, the Warhawks perfectly completed a relay to the plate, preventing Lamm from scoring.

Whitewater earned a pair of baserunners in the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff walk and two-out base on balls. However, senior pitcher Kylie Hosey recorded a strikeout to send the game into extra innings.

The Warhawks scored three runs in the bottom of the opening frame on one hit and four walks. CWRU escaped further damage when Hosey, who entered the game in relief, struck out a batter and induced a flyout with the bases loaded.

The Spartans responded by leading off the following stanza with three consecutive walks, loading the bases and prompting a pitching change for Whitewater. A base on balls by sophomore infielder Kaelyn Zusi brought in a run, and a fielder's choice off the bat of first-year outfielder Kate Coonan scored the second run of the inning. However, a runner was thrown at the plate for the second out, and a flyout ended the half of the inning with the score 3-2 in favor of the top seed.

Sophomore infielder Karen Potts recorded the first hit of the day for CWRU in the top of the third inning and advanced to third on an error. A walk and stolen base put two runners in scoring position for Lamm, who tied the score at three with a shallow single down the left field line. The Spartans executed a first-and-third play in the following at-bat, sending the go-ahead run across the plate.

Whitewater scored two runs on a pinch-hit two-out double by Taylor Koehler to retake the lead, 5-4, in the bottom of the frame. A single down the right field line pushed the third run of the inning across for the Warhawks.

Lamm reached base in all four of her trips to the plate, drawing two walks and recording two hits, extending her hitting streak to six games. Gross also extended her hitting streak to six games with a single in the fifth inning. Potts appeared on base for the 12th consecutive contest and has reached in all but two of the team's games this season.

Hosey (10-7) suffered the loss in relief, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out seven. Josie Hammen (17-2) earned the win for Whitewater, allowing one run on two hits in the final two innings.

Game 5: (2) CWRU 7, (3) Lebanon Valley 1

CWRU, playing as the visiting team in the elimination game, came out swinging, scoring six times in the first three innings. In the first frame, Gross tied the program record with her 33rd career home run to put the team up 2-0.

Berry added to the lead with a run-scoring single in the second inning. The next frame, Lamm crushed a leadoff homer, her sixth of the year, to make the score 4-1. Later in the inning, Durham drove in a pair of runs with a single to increase the lead to five. In the sixth, Zusi completed the scoring with a sacrifice fly, making the final tally 7-1.

After allowing a solo home run in the second inning, senior pitcher Lexi Miskey settled in, retiring nine consecutive batters before a two-out single from Lexi Smith in the bottom of the fifth inning. She earned the win in the circle to improve to 19-4 in 2025, allowing just one run in six innings on three hits while striking out seven. Junior pitcher Devanghi Misra completed the game with a scoreless, hitless inning.

Seven batters recorded at least two hits in the game for CWRU, which totaled 17 hits in the contest.

Spartan Notes

• The matchup on Friday was the first-ever meeting between UWW and CWRU, while the Spartans improved to 2-1 in the all-time series with Lebanon Valley, with both wins coming at the regional
• CWRU moved to 22-15 in postseason games and 13-5 in NCAA Tournament games at Mather Park. The Spartans have hosted the Regional Round in each of the last four seasons and the Super Regional Round in 2024
• Case Western Reserve has at least advanced to the regional final in four of their six all-time postseason appearances, winning on the final day in 2018, 2022, and 2024 to reach the Super Regional Round
• The loss was the first-ever for the Spartans in extra-innings in postseason history with the team dropping to 3-1 all-time in games exceeding regulation in the NCAA Tournament. In 2025, Case Western Reserve dropped to 2-2 in extra-inning contests and 8-6 in games decided by one run
• The Spartan offense had a season-high 17 hits in the second contest, the most since the squad had 20 hits in a 14-3 victory over Brandeis on April 19, 2024, and the most by the team ever in a postseason game
• Potts, who extended her on-base streak to 13 games with a pair of walks, is now two shy of the program record for free passes. Her 26 walks this season are the third-most in a single season by a CWRU hitter