From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
The Case Western Reserve University softball team split the first two games of their four-game series at Washington (Mo.) University on Friday afternoon in St. Louis, Missouri. The Spartans lost 2-0 in the first game of the day, but defeated the Bears 3-2 in the second contest.
With the split, the Spartans now stand at 15-10 overall and 6-5 in the UAA, while the Bears are 15-10 overall and 3-3 in the conference.
Game 1: WashU 2, CWRU 0
Two RBI doubles from WashU in the first and sixth inning proved to be the difference in the early game on Friday, as the Spartans fell to the Bears 2-0.
The loss came despite a solid pitching performance for senior Annie Wennerberg. She allowed only one earned run on five hits and three walks, while striking out five over six innings of work.
However, Case Western Reserve could not get its offense on track in the game against WashU starter Anna McKee, who held the Spartans scoreless on three hits, while striking out three without walking a batter, improving to 9-3 on the year with the complete-game win.
Freshman Emily Nishiwaki had one hit and a stolen base for the Spartans, while junior Grace Tritchler and Wennerberg accounted for the other two of the team's three hits. Wennerberg took the loss for CWRU, falling to 9-4 for the season.
Game 2: CWRU 3, WashU 2 (10 inn.)
CWRU got on the board first with a run in the top of the second when freshman Melissa Cuellar hit an RBI single to left field that scored Wennerberg. The Spartans added another in the top of the third when junior Maren Waldner singled up the middle to score junior Katie Wede.
WashU responded in the bottom half of the inning with two runs to even the game at 2-2.
The score remained tied until the top of the tenth inning. The Spartans started the inning with a runner placed second, then Nishiwaki hit a sacrifice bunt to move to freshman Caitlin Smith from second to third. Wede then stepped to the plate and delivered an RBI sacrifice fly to left field to score Smith from third. CWRU help the Bears scoreless in the bottom of the inning to secure the 3-2 victory.
Junior Katie Dzierwa started and earned the win, improving to 5-4 on the season. She held WashU to two earned runs on nine hits and two walks, while striking out three over 6.2 innings of work. Wennerberg pitched 3.1 innings of relief, allowing only two hits and two walks, while striking out one batter.
Wennerberg and Nishiwaki each went two-for-four at the plate, while Wede, Waldner and Cuellar each contributed one hit and one run batted in.
Maggie Clapp took the loss for the Bears, falling to 5-7 on the season.