From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
The seventh-ranked Case Western Reserve University softball team swept a doubleheader from Carnegie Mellon University on Saturday at UPMC All American Park in Trafford, Pennsylvania, winning the first game 6-2 and taking the second game 8-4.
The Spartans improved to 27-2 with the two wins, completing their third consecutive four-game sweep to increase their winning streak to 12 games. CWRU also improved to 13-2 in University Athletic Association contests, maintaining a four-game lead in the conference standings over Brandeis and lowering the team's magic number to clinch the conference championship to just one. Case Western Reserve needs either a win or a Brandeis loss to secure the UAA title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Judges face New York University tomorrow at 11 a.m. while CWRU does not play another conference game until Friday, April 21.
The Tartans fell to 14-20 on the season and 4-12 in UAA contests.
In the first game of the day, sophomore pitcher Lexi Miskey struck out eight batters in five innings to give her 300 career strikeouts. She became the fifth player in program history to reach the 300-strikeout milestone, doing so in just 234 innings, the fewest number of innings needed among the five pitchers. Miskey improved to 17-0 on the season, allowing just one earned run on four hits and four walks. She has 141 strikeouts this season, the sixth most in a single season in program history.
Sophomore infielder Isabella Russo went three-for-six on the day with three walks, two runs scored, two steals, and a run driven in. Sophomore catcher Katelyn Lamm walked three times in the second contest.
Game 1: #7 CWRU 6, Carnegie Mellon 2
After Miskey struck out the side in the bottom of the first inning, the Spartans broke the scoreless tie with a run in the next frame. Russo led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by first-year catcher Anna Gobeyn. Russo scored on a single by junior outfielder Stevie Rieger to put the Spartans ahead 1-0.
The Tartans responded in the bottom of the inning, scoring a run on a two-out single.
Case Western Reserve reclaimed the lead in the next inning, when junior outfielder Kela Jagoda drove in a run with a single to right field. CMU responded again, knotting the score with an unearned run following a leadoff triple.
The game remained tied through the next two innings, though Carnegie Mellon had a runner on third base with just one out in the bottom of the fifth inning. Miskey struck out the following batter and induced a flyout to keep the score tied at two.
With runners on second and third and no outs in the top of the sixth inning, Gobeyn delivered the go-ahead run with a single to right center field. Rieger later drove in Russo with a sacrifice fly to make the score 4-2, and junior infielder Kaila Nutter drove in a fifth run with a two-out double.
Junior pitcher Jenna Jaklich entered the game in the bottom of the inning, looking to secure her second save of the season over the next two frames. After a one-out single followed by a walk, Jaklich struck out the next two batters to keep the lead at three.
Jagoda scored an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning on a running play, scoring before Russo was caught stealing second to end the frame. Jaklich worked around a two-out triple in the bottom half of the inning to complete the win and record the save. She shutout the Tartans over two innings, allowing two hits and a walk but striking out a career-high three batters.
Jagoda and Russo each collected two hits and stole a base in the first game of the day, with Russo scoring twice and Jagoda once. Rieger drove in two runs for her second multi-RBI game of the series.
Game 2: #7 CWRU 8, Carnegie Mellon 4
A five-run second inning gave CWRU a 5-0 advantage in the final game of the series. Rieger scored the first run on a first-and-third play, crossing the plate while first-year infielder Elizabeth Berry was caught stealing second. A two-out single by junior infielder KaiLi Gross drove in the second run of the inning, and Lamm scored the third run on a CMU error. Senior infielder Amanda Riely drove in the final two runs of the frame with a double, her second two-bagger in the doubleheader.
Jaklich started the game in the circle, retiring the first eight batters she faced before conceding a two-out single in the third inning. Later in the inning, the Tartans scored two runs on a triple and a third with a single to cut their deficit to two. Jaklich, who did not factor into the decision, went two and two-thirds innings, allowing three runs on three hits and a walk.
A sacrifice fly by Jagoda that scored senior outfielder Carli Tucci gave the Spartans a three-run lead in the fifth inning, 6-3. CMU responded with an unearned run in the bottom of the inning, scoring on a passed ball and throwing error to make the score 6-4.
Lamm drove in an insurance run in the seventh inning, plating Landers on a one-out single through the left side. A bases-loaded walk by Russo forced in the eighth and final run of the game for CWRU.
Sophomore pitcher Kylie Hosey (9-2) pitched the final four and one-third innings to earn the win in relief, allowing just one unearned run on four hits and no walks with one strikeout. Riely had two hits, including a double, and drove in two runs in the second game.