From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
Case Western Reserve University junior Katie Dzierwa pitched her first career no-hitter to help the Spartans split a doubleheader against Heidelberg University on Sunday afternoon at Mather Park.
The Spartans fell 6-5 in extra innings in the first game, before Dzierwa threw her no-hitter to help CWRU secure a 9-0 win in the second contest.
Senior Annie Wennerberg paced the team at the plate, going two-for-five over the two games with three runs batted, three runs scored and one home run. The home run was her second of the season and 33rd of her career.
With the split of the doubleheader, the Spartans moved to 20-17 overall, while Heidelberg now stands at 25-12-1 for the season.
Game 1: Heidelberg 6, CWRU 5 (8 inn.)
CWRU took a 1-0 after the second inning when freshman Melissa Cuellar hit a RBI single down the left field line to score Wennerberg.
The Student Princes answered back in the fourth with grand slam to take a 4-1 lead, but the Spartans wasted no time as they scored three runs of their own in the bottom half of the fourth. Freshman Emily Nishiwaki drove in two if the three runs with an RBI double to center field that scored freshman Nicole Carty and Cuellar to even the score at 4-4.
Heidelberg scored a run in the sixth to regain the lead at 5-4. CWRU once fought back to score a run in the bottom of the seventh when Carty hit a sacrifice fly to center which allowed freshman Caitlin Smithto score from third. Heidelberg would eventually score another run in the eighth to secure the 6-5 win in extra innings.
Wennerberg started and took the loss, dropping to 12-8 on the season. Kaitlyn Moore pitched in relief and earned the victory for the Student Princes, improving to 12-5 on the campaign.
Game 2: CWRU 9, Heidelberg 0 (6 inn.)
Dzierwa recorded her first career no-hitter and Wennerberg hit her program-leading 33rd home run of her career, leading the Spartans to a 9-0 victory in game two.
The Spartans scored one run in the first when sophomore Nicole Doyle scored from third on an error. The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the third when Wennerberg hit a three-run home run, extending the lead to 4-0. CWRU then erupted for five runs in the sixth which included a RBI fielder's choice from Carty, a RBI double freshman Amanda Thornton and two-run RBI single from junior Maren Waldner to secure the 9-0 victory in six innings.
Dzierwa did not allow a hit during her six innings of work in the second game, while only allowing one walk and striking out one batter. She improved to 7-7 on the year with the win, her second victory in as many starts. The complete game was her fifth on the season.
The Spartans collected 12 hits in the game, including three-for-four performance by freshman Emily Nishiwaki. Waldner and Thornton each had two hits in the game as well.
Kaitlyn Moore started and took the loss for Heidelberg, falling to 12-6 on the year.
With the split on Sunday, Case Western Reserve completed a strong finish to the 2017 campaign. CWRU won three of its last four contests to finish above .500 for the sixth consecutive season.