From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
The Case Western Reserve University softball team got back to .500 on the season with a sweep of a doubleheader at Kenyon College on Wednesday afternoon, topping the Ladies 10-0 in five innings in the first game, and 10-2 in six innings in the second contest, in Gambier, Ohio.
Junior pitcher Annie Wennerberg started and earned the win in each of the two games, holding Kenyon to just two unearned runs on seven hits and a walk with eight strikeouts in nine innings. She improved to 13-10 overall on the season, while lowering her earned run average to 3.39.
Sophomore Katie Wede paced the team at the plate, going four-for-seven over the two games with five runs scored and four runs batted in. She added a stolen base, her 21st of the season, moving her within one of Molly O'Brien's single-season program record, set during the 2013 campaign.
Sophomore infielder Maren Waldner added four RBIs over the two games.
With the wins, the Spartans have now won nine of their last 12 games to improve to 19-19 overall, reaching the .500 mark for the first time since March 5th. Kenyon dropped to 13-18-1 with the two losses.
Game 1: CWRU 10, Kenyon 0 (5 innings)
The Spartans scored four runs in the third inning and added six in the fifth to secure a 10-0 win over the Ladies in the opening game of Wednesday's doubleheader.
Wennerberg went the distance in the game, holding Kenyon scoreless on four hits and a walk, while striking out six batters. It was her first shutout of the season and the team's second overall, and the 12th complete game of the season for the junior.
Wede, who went two-for-three in the game with two runs and three RBIs, got the Spartans on the board in the third with an RBI single, with the team going on to score three more in the inning. The score remained 4-0 until the top of the fifth, when Case Western Reserve broke out for six runs in the frame, including RBIs for freshman Alex Favazza, sophomore Lindsey Robinson, freshman Nicole Doyle and Waldner, and a two-RBI single for Wede, putting the run-rule into effect.
Austen Whibley started and suffered the loss for Kenyon in the first game, dropping to 9-12 on the season.
Game 2: CWRU 10, Kenyon 2 (6 innings)
The Spartans jumped out to a 5-0 lead after three innings, and tacked on five late runs, en route to another run-rule shortened victory over Kenyon in the second game of the day.
Wede and sophomore infielder Grace Tritchler each drove in a pair of runs in the game, and five different Spartan players had at least two hits, with the team totaling 13 in the game.
CWRU put a pair on the board in the first inning on an RBI groundout by Waldner and a sacrifice fly from Tritchler, and the added runs in the third inning with RBI hits from Wede and Waldner, and a third run when Waldner stole home successfully.
Kenyon put their first runs of the day in the fourth, scoring a pair of unearned runs to cut the lead to 5-2. However, the Spartans put the game out of reach with three runs in the fifth and two in the sixth, extending the advantage to 10-2.
Wennerberg pitched the first four innings, allowing just a pair of unearned runs on three hits, striking out a pair without walking a batter. Sophomore Katie Dzierwa wrapped up the victory with a pair of scoreless innings, yielding just a hit and striking out one.
Elizabeth Ovieda went the distance in the loss for Kenyon, falling to 2-5 for the campaign.