From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
The Case Western Reserve University baseball team's winning streak ended at nine games, as the Spartans split a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at home against Ohio Wesleyan University, defeating the Battling Bishops 8-0 in the first game before falling 8-3 in the second game.
The Spartans moved to 11-2 on the season following the split, while Ohio Wesleyan now stands at 4-7.
Game 1 – CWRU 8, Ohio Wesleyan 0
In the team's home opener, Case Western Reserve junior Mark Gross held Ohio Wesleyan scoreless over eight innings of work, leading the Spartans to their first shutout of the season with an 8-0 victory over the Bishops in the opening contest of the day.
Gross allowed just three hits in the game and walked just one, while striking out four batters in his 106-pitch effort. He improved to 3-0 on the year with the win, while lowering his earned run average to 0.56 for the season.
The Spartans struck for four runs in the third off Ohio Wesleyan starter Kevin Zullo, taking the lead when sophomore first baseman Casey McConihe and junior catcher Tyler Wypiszenski scored on an error. An RBI ground out for junior second baseman Rocco Maue scored freshman shortstop Jacob Lott, and senior left fielder Nate Glasser capped off the scoring with an RBI double to plate sophomore center fielder Samuel Neal.
Junior third baseman Jacob Kucia added a run in the fifth with a one out RBI single, extending the Spartans' lead to 5-0. CWRU scored three more in the bottom of the seventh, including an RBI double for Wypiszenski and run scoring groundout by junior Mike Najmowicz.
Gross left the game after eight innings, giving way to sophomore Tony Yambor, who pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the team's first shutout of the season.
Lott finished the game three-for-three with a run scored, and Wypiszenski added a two-for-four day with a double, a run and an RBI. The Spartans outhit Ohio Wesleyan 10-4 in the game.
Zullo took the loss for the Bishops, dropping to 1-2 on the season.
Game 2 – Ohio Wesleyan 8, CWRU 3
Case Western Reserve had its share of chances in the second game of the day, collecting 11 hits and drawing eight walks, but left a total of 15 runners stranded on base in an 8-3 loss to Ohio Wesleyan.
Ohio Wesleyan chased CWRU's game two starter, McConihe, from the game in the third inning. The Bishops scored three in the second and two in the third, taking a 5-0 lead over the Spartans. An RBI double for Wypiszenski plated a run in the fifth, cutting the lead to 5-1.
The score remained 5-1 until the seventh, behind solid pitching from sophomore reliever Matthew Speitel, before Ohio Wesleyan added an unearned run, extending their advantage to 6-1. The Spartans trimmed the lead in the eighth on an RBI single from Maue, and a two-out bases loaded single by Wypiszenski made it a 6-3 score. However, Wypiszenski was picked off on a close play at first base to end the inning, and two more runs in the ninth by the Bishops put the game out of reach for CWRU.
Wypiszenski finished the game two-for-five with two RBIs, while Maue and Glasser each had a pair of hits in the game as well. Sophomore Noah Mehrle added a hit in the second game, extending his hitting streak to 10-straight games.
McConihe took the loss for CWRU to fall to 0-1 on the year, while Chris Punka claimed the win in relief for Ohio Wesleyan, improving to 1-1.