From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
Case Western Reserve University junior second baseman Rocco Maue homered in each game of a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, helping to lead the 13th-ranked Spartans to wins of 12-6 and 4-3 over Emory University at Nobby's Ballpark in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday.
The two wins raised the Spartans' record to 15-3 on the year, including a 2-1 mark in the University Athletic Association. Emory dropped to 10-12 with a 1-2 UAA ledger.
Maue has now homered in all three games of the series, and has hit in 14-consecutive games overall. After going four-for-nine with two home runs, two doubles, three runs scored and two RBIs over the two games, the second baseman is now hitting .431 for the season with eight home runs, 26 runs scored and 20 runs batted in. With more than half the season still remaining, he sits just one home run shy of the school's single-season record, set by Steve Rosiek during the 1986 season.
Game 1: CWRU 12, Emory 6
The Spartans scored 12 unanswered runs to overcome an early 3-0 deficit, en route to a 12-6 win over Emory in the opening game of the doubleheader.
The Spartans' offense pounded out 14 hits, including seven doubles and a home run, in the first game of the day. Maue went three-for-five with two doubles, a home run, two runs scored and an RBI, and junior third baseman Jacob Kucia added a three-for-five day at the plate with a double, two runs and two RBIs. Junior catcher Tyler Wypiszenski and junior left fielder Jacob Pestel registered a pair of hits apiece in the game as well.
Emory scored the first three runs of the game off CWRU sophomore starter Casey McConihe, taking a 3-0 lead after two and a half innings. However, McConihe would not allow another run in his seven-inning outing, allowing just six hits and three walks with five strikeouts during the day.
The Spartans' offense would retaliate in the fourth inning. Maue opened the frame with a solo home run, and a throwing error by the Emory third baseman later in the inning allowed two more runs to cross the plate, knotting the game at 3-3. An RBI single for Pestel later in the inning gave CWRU its first lead of the game, 4-3.
Case Western Reserve added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth on a two-out, two-run double by freshman shortstop Jacob Lott, and three more in the seventh on a two-RBI double by Kucia and a run scoring two-bagger for sophomore first baseman Noah Mehrle. An RBI double for Wypiszenski and a two-run single for freshman designated hitter Jake Ryan in the eighth capped off CWRU's scoring for the day, giving the Spartans a 12-3 lead.
Emory scored three runs off the CWRU bullpen in the ninth, but junior Mike Najmowicz made his collegiate debut on the mound, getting the final two outs of the game to lock up the victory.
McConihe earned the win for CWRU, improving to 1-1 on the year. Emory starter Jack Moore took the loss, falling to 1-4.
Game 2: CWRU 4, Emory 3
The second game of the doubleheader was considerably tighter, but Maue's second home run of day, another solo shot, proved to be the difference-maker in a 4-3 over Emory.
The Spartans did the majority of their scoring in the bottom of the second inning, putting three runs on the board against Emory starter James Robertson. With one out, Robertson walked three-straight batters, and then hit Kucia to force across the first run of the game. A sacrifice fly by Lott and a two-out RBI single for sophomore center fielder Samuel Neal increased the Spartans' lead to 3-0 by the end of the frame.
Emory responded with two runs of their own off CWRU senior starter Ben Murphy in the top of the third, but that would be all Murphy would yield in the outing, leaving after five innings with a 3-2 lead. Junior Corey Brown added three shutout innings of relief, giving up just two hits and striking out three.
Maue struck for his second home run of the day, sending a 3-2 pitch deep over the wall in left centerfield to extend the Spartans' lead to 4-2. CWRU remained up by two runs until the ninth, when Emory struck for an unearned run with one out against senior reliever Liam Killingstad. However, Killingstad induced and infield fly and struck out the final batter of the game to pick up his fifth save of the season.
Murphy earned the win to improve to 3-1 on the year, allowing just three hits and three walks with four strikeouts over his five innings of work. Robertson took the loss to drop to 1-2 on the campaign.