From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
The Case Western Reserve University baseball team swept its doubleheader at the University of Pittsburgh Greensburg on Saturday, topping the Bobcats 4-3 in 11 innings in the first game, before running away with a 14-6 victory in the late contest in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
Junior outfielders Josh Neal and Tony Damiano each homered and drove in three runs during the two games. Meanwhile, the Spartans' bullpen did not allow a run in 10 innings of work during the day, as five different pitchers yielded just five hits and struck out eight batters.
The wins brought the Spartans' record back above .500 for the year, as the team improved to 10-9 overall, while Pitt.-Greensburg fell to 7-8 for the campaign.
Game 1: CWRU 4, Pitt.-Greensburg 3 (11 innings)
Case Western Reserve freshman shortstop Rocco Maue's run in the top of the 11th inning broke a 3-3 tie, and proved to be the game-winning run in the Spartans' 4-3 win over the Bobcats in the opening game of the day.
Pitt.-Greensburg took a 2-0 lead in the game scoring runs in each of the first and second innings. The Spartans responded in the top of the third, when Neal led the frame off with a home run, the first of his career. Later in the inning, sophomore second baseman Alex Capetillo singled to drive in freshman third baseman Jacob Kucia, knotting the score at 2-2 after two and a half innings.
The Spartans would take their first lead of the game in the top of the fifth. Singles from Damiano and freshman Tyler Wypiszenski, with junior outfielder Aaron Cain reaching on an error in between, loaded the bases with no outs in the inning. After a pop-out, Pitt.-Greensburg starter Joe Zufall balked, allowing Damiano to score from third.
A solo home run by Matt Moyer tied the game in the bottom of the sixth, and the score remained deadlocked into extra innings. The Spartans would finally break the tie in the top of the 11th, when Maue doubled with one out, and scored the go-ahead run on an error by the Bobcats' shortstop.
Sophomore Nate Glasser would enter the game in the bottom of the 11th to close out the victory for CWRU senior Connor Tagg, who pitched 2.2 hitless innings of relief in the game, walking three and striking out a pair. Despite two runners reaching, Glasser would strand the potential tying and game-winning runs on the base paths to pick up his second save of the season.
Tagg earned the win to improve to 1-0 on the season, while Dylan Pounds took the loss for Pitt.-Greensburg, dropping to 1-1 on the year. CWRU freshman Mark Gross started and received a no-decision for the game, allowing just two earned runs and striking out four in six innings, while the Spartans' bullpen, including Tagg, Glasser and sophomore Liam Killingstad, did not allow a hit in five innings of work.
Capetillo finished the game two-for-six at the plate with a double and an RBI, while Damiano added a two-for-four performance.
Game 2: CWRU 14, Pitt.-Greensburg 6
The Spartans overcame an early 3-0 deficit, and broke a 6-6 tie with an eight-run top of the eighth inning to complete the sweep of the Bobcats with a 14-6 win in the late game on Saturday.
After a scoreless top of the first, Pitt.-Greensburg struck for three runs in the bottom of the inning to jump out to the early lead in the game. The Spartans responded in the bottom of the inning when sophomore Daniel Watson walked with one out, and scored a batter later on a double by Neal. Case Western Reserve rallied with two outs in the third, scoring runs on a wild pitch and an error to tie the game, and taking the lead on an RBI triple from Watson. The Spartans added to their lead in the fourth on an RBI single from Capetillo, and a run-scoring double off the bat of Damiano, extending the CWRU advantage to 6-3.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Bobcats evened the score again on a two-out, three-run home run from Greg Lynn, knotting the score at 6-6. However, junior Jake Shields entered the game in relief of CWRU starter Preston Williams in the fifth and shut down the Pitt.-Greensburg offense, allowing just four hits and striking out five batters over the next four shutout innings.
The score remained tied at six until the top of the eighth inning. With one out, Neal walked and stole second, and then scored the go-ahead run on an RBI double from Kucia. Cain followed with an RBI triple, and then scored a run of his own when Capetillo reached on an error in the next at bat. Damiano followed with a two-run home run, his team-leading third of the season. The Spartans added on three more runs in the inning, taking a commanding lead in the game.
Shields would pitch a 1-2-3 bottom of the eighth, and would go on to earn the win to improve to 3-2 on the year. Senior Lee Penzarella added a scoreless ninth to cap off the victory for the Spartans. Mike Parlak took the loss for the Bobcats, dropping to 0-1 on the season.
Damiano raised his batting average to .319 for the season, after finishing the game two-for-six with three RBIs, a home run, and a double, and leads the Spartans with 13 runs batted in for the season. Neal went two-for-four with a pair of runs batted in, a double and a stolen base.