The Case Western Reserve University softball team defeated Muskingum University 3-2 on Thursday afternoon at the Clothier Softball Field in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, to open the NCAA Division III Softball Championship Regional Round.

The second-seeded Spartans moved to 28-12 this season and will face top-seeded Swarthmore in the winners' bracket tomorrow. The third-seeded Fighting Muskies fell to 29-11 in 2026 and will take on Messiah in an elimination game later in the day on Friday.

Stats and Standouts

• First-year pitcher/outfielder Camryn Mclelland (10-4) went six and two-third innings in the circle, allowing just one earned run while striking out four batters. She also added a hit at the plate
• First-year catcher Sophia Becker drove in a pair of runs with two singles in her collegiate postseason debut
• Junior infielder Karen Potts scored two of the three runs, reaching base on a double and a single and stealing a base
• First-year pitcher Josephine Alspaw recorded the final out to earn her fourth save of the season
• Sophomore outfielder Ashley Miller and junior outfielder Nylah Durham each added hits for CWRU

Game Summary

• The Muskies loaded the bases in the second inning with one out on a hit and a pair of walks
• Mclelland struck out the next batter and induced a harmless flyout to keep the game scoreless
• Durham led off the bottom of the third inning with a single
• Potts followed with a single that deflected off the glove of an infielder, putting runners on the corners with no outs in the frame
• One batter later, Durham scored on a wild pitch, giving CWRU an early lead
• With two outs, Becker doubled the lead with a run-scoring single
• Muskingum threatened in the next inning, getting a runner to third with two outs, but did not score
• Potts led off the fifth stanza with a double, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on a single by Becker, increasing the lead to three
• Muskingum put a run on the board in the sixth inning with a one-out solo home run, making the score 3-1
• The Muskies took advantage of a CWRU error to cut into the deficit and put the tying run on second base with two outs in the final frame
• The next batter drove the ball to deep left field, but first-year outfielder Violette Tuma made the catch at the fence to secure the win

Spartan Notes

• Case Western Reserve improved to 23-16 in postseason games in its history with the Spartans making their seventh all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament
• CWRU improved to 6-1 in postseason openers, winning its last five games to start an NCAA Tournament
• The Spartans moved to 4-7 all-time against Muskingum, winning for the second time in three games against the Muskies during the 2026 season
• Potts's steal in the third inning was her 30th of the season, making her the fourth player in program history to steal at least 30 bases in a single campaign. Former Spartan Sarah Miller, who set a program record with 41 steals in 2021, is the only other player in program history with double digit homers in a 30-steal season. Miller slugged 16 round trippers that year and Potts has 12 in 2026
• Becker had her fourth multi-hit game in team's last seven contests, going 11-for-21 (.524) in the month of May at the plate
• In addition to Alspaw, Becker, Mclelland, and Tuma, first-year infielder Natalie Ching and first-year outfielder Sierra Ejercito made their collegiate postseason debuts

Up Next

The Spartans will take on top-seeded and 14th-ranked Swarthmore in the third game of the regional on Friday at 11 a.m. With a win, CWRU would advance to the regional final on Saturday at 11 a.m. If the Spartans lose to the Garnet, the team will play in an elimination game at 4 p.m. against either Messiah or Muskingum.