Conference play could not have gotten off to a better start for the Case Western Reserve University softball team as the Spartans swept their second series, with Emory University falling victim to the Spartans. With the four wins from April 5-7, the Spartans now stand at a whopping 23-2 overall, a perfect 8-0 against UAA teams and a 15-game win streak on the season. The team also earned their 24th straight UAA victory including last season’s performances. The Eagles fell to 16-12 overall and 2-5 in the conference.
Despite this marked difference in overall success, it was the Eagles that clawed to an early lead in Game 1 on Friday off a home run to left field, which gave Emory the 2-0 advantage. The Spartans did not hold back in the second inning. Fourth-year Stevie Rieger and first-year Alaina Steffes hit singles, allowing a ground ball hit from third-year Isabella Russo to bring Rieger to home plate. A subsequent double from third-year Katelyn Lamm plated Steffes and Russo. A pinch-hit double from fourth-year Jordon Manworren brought Lamm home for the 4-2 Spartan lead. Manworren then scored off a throwing error following a single from fourth-year Kela Jagoda. Finally, fourth-year KaiLi Gross hit a single to plate Jagoda for the 6-2 lead.
In the same inning, Gross not only extended her hitting streak to 15 games but she also stole her 76th career base, tying the program record previously set by Katie Wede in 2018.
After allowing a home run in the first, third-year pitcher Lexi Miskey allowed just two runs and one hit in five innings along with six strikeouts. Second-year Devanghi Misra took Miskey’s place in the last two innings, giving up just one hit while recording a strikeout.
In the fourth, Rieger hit a two-out two-run single to bring Jagoda and second-year Tara Fritscher home to increase the Spartan advantage to 8-2. Jagoda then scored her third run in the sixth inning after capitalizing on a throwing error, bringing the final score to 9-2 in favor of CWRU.
For Game 2, Gross opened with a double to right center field to bring Jagoda to home plate and Rieger hit a sacrifice fly to plate first-year Karen Potts for the 2-0 CWRU lead. Though the Eagles hit a home run in the third to cut the Spartan lead, Steffes responded with a two-out scoring double to bring the lead to 3-1. Two scoreless innings later, Russo drove in a run with a two-out double while second-year Elizabeth Berry followed with a run-scoring double to make the final score 5-1.
Emory opened Game 3 with a run, but a double from Rieger drove in three runners to give the Spartans a 3-1 lead. Manworren drove in a run on a ground ball, which the Spartans followed up with a double steal for another run. Steffes’s sacrifice fly then drove in their third run of the inning for the 6-1 lead. After the Eagles notched a run in the fourth inning, the Spartans scored three runs after a home run from Gross. CWRU earned their 10th run on a wild pitch to finish the game 10-2.
Third-year Kylie Hosey improved to 9-0 overall after pitching four innings. Hosey struck out two batters after allowing two runs and six hits.
The Spartans closed the series with a dominant 8-0 victory in Game 4, headlined by Gross breaking the program record in steals. She recorded her 77th steal in the fifth inning while also recording 100 career runs-batted-in, becoming the third player in program history to do so.
Gross fittingly hit a home run to give CWRU the 1-0 lead in the first inning. Rieger’s single in the fourth inning plated Potts. With bases loaded in the fifth, Jagoda first plated a run on an error. Potts then added a two-run double, Gross hit a single and Rieger closed scoring for the inning with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 7-0. Manworren hit a run-scoring single to end the game 8-0 by run rule in the sixth inning.
Hosey earned another win, holding a perfect 10-0 record. She allows only one hit while striking out three players. Fourth-year pitcher Jenna Jaklich and Miskey finished the one-hit shutout after combining for two strikeouts in the final two innings.
The Spartans will now hit the road for two weekends, first visiting Washington University in St. Louis for four games from April 12-14. CWRU will then travel to Waltham, Massachusetts from April 19-21 to play Brandeis University.