From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
The Case Western Reserve University baseball team, ranked 11th in Division III, split a University Athletic Association doubleheader with New York University on Friday afternoon, falling 12-3 in the early contest, before bouncing back with a 13-3 win in eight innings over the Violets in the late affair at Nobby's Ballpark in Cleveland, Ohio.
With the split, the Spartans moved to 21-4 overall, and remained in first place in the UAA with an 8-2 conference record. NYU now stands at 21-5 overall and 2-4 in the UAA.
Sophomore centerfielder Samuel Neal went six-for-eight in the two games combined at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing two bases, while junior second baseman Rocco Maue belted his Division III-best 11th home run of the campaign in the second game of the day. Five different Spartan relievers combined to allow just three runs out of the bullpen in 11 innings of relief work during the two games.
Game 1: NYU 12, CWRU 3
The Violets utilized a five-run seventh inning to pull away from the Spartans, en route to a 12-3 win over CWRU in the opening game of the series.
The Spartans scored a run in the first inning of the game on an RBI single by junior catcher Tyler Wypiszenski. However, the Violets struck back with three runs in the top of the second and one in the fourth, taking a 4-1 lead. In the fifth, freshman shortstop Jacob Lott doubled with one out and scored a run, cutting the NYU lead to 5-2. The Violets responded with a run of their own in the sixth, and scored five off CWRU sophomore starter Mark Gross in the seventh, taking a 10-2 lead.
CWRU pulled closer in the eighth, when senior designated hitter Alex Capetillo scored on a groundout by sophomore outfielder Noah Mehrle, but NYU added two more runs in the ninth to cement its victory.
Neal went three-for-four at the plate in the first game, while Capetillo added a two-for-four performance with a stolen base.
Gross took the loss for the Spartans, dropping to 4-2 on the year. NYU starter Cameron Serapilio-Frank claimed the victory, raising his season record to 7-0.
Game 2: CWRU 13, NYU 3 (8 innings)
Maue drove in five runs, Wypiszenski added a three-run triple, and both Neal and Lott collected three hits, as the Spartans responded with a dominating 13-3 win over the Violets in eight inning during the second game of the doubleheader on Friday.
Maue finished the game three-for-five with two runs scored, a home run and five runs batted in, and drove in the game winning run with a two-out single in the eighth inning to invoke the 10-run rule. His home run was his school-record 11th of the season, and his sixth in conference play this season.
Lott went three-for-four in the game with a pair of doubles, an RBI and a run scored, raising his batting average to .304 for the season. Neal added a three-for-four game at the plate, scoring three runs, doubling, and stealing a pair of bases.
CWRU starter Casey McConihe lasted just one batter in the game, forcing junior left-handed reliever Corey Brown into emergency action. Brown pitched well, allowing just two runs on two hits and four walks, while striking out five batters over five innings of work, and earning the win in the game to improve to 3-0 on the season.
After the Violets scored a run in the top of the first inning, the Spartans responded immediately. Neal led the game off with a single to centerfield, and Maue followed with a two-run home run, giving CWRU a 2-1 advantage. The Violets tied the game in the top of the second, but five Spartans crossed the plate in the second, including an RBI single for Maue, a sacrifice fly for Capetillo, and RBI single for junior outfielder Jacob Pestel, an RBI single for senior outfielder Nate Glasser and a sacrifice fly for Mehrle.
With two outs in the third inning, Wypiszenski cleared the bases with a triple, scoring three runs and extending the CWRU lead to 10-2. A bases-loaded walk to Maue in the fourth put the Spartans ahead by nine runs heading into the fifth.
The Violets cut the lead down to eight with a run in the fifth inning, but CWRU added a run in the sixth on doubles from Mehrle and Lott, and Maue's single in the eighth scored junior third baseman Jacob Kucia, and ended the contest early.
NYU starter Tim Salvadore allowed seven runs in an inning and a third, taking the loss in the game to fall to 4-2 on the year.