Softball Takes Opener from CMU, 8-4

The Case Western Reserve University softball team won the first game of a three-game series against Carnegie Mellon University 8-4 on a chilly Friday afternoon at George Washington Intermediate School in New Castle, Pennsylvania.

The Spartans improved to 25-12 this season and 10-6 in University Athletic Association contests. The Tartans fell to 20-16 and 6-10 in UAA play.

Stats and Standouts

• First-year catcher Sophia Becker reached base in all four of her plate appearances, going three-for-three with a home run, two doubles, a walk, two runs batted in, and two runs scored

• Sophomore outfielder Ashley Miller also had a pair of hits and two RBI

• Junior infielder Kaelyn Zusi drove in two runs with a double

• First-year pitcher/outfielder Camryn Mclelland (9-4) pitched all seven innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts

Game Summary

• A pair of doubles in the first inning gave CMU an early 2-0 lead

• Miller tied the score in the next inning with a two-out, two-run double

• Becker gave the Spartans their first lead of the game with a two-run homer in the third inning, her fourth home run of the season, making the score 4-2

• A two-out single cut into the deficit in the bottom half, but CWRU recorded the third out of the fame at third base to maintain a one-run advantage

• The Tartans tied the score at four in the fifth frame on an error

• Becker doubled to lead off the sixth inning, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Mclelland to reclaim the lead for the visitors

• Zusi added a pair of insurance runs in the final inning, driving in two runners with a one-out double

• Later in the inning, sophomore infielder Kate Coonan made the score 8-4 with a sacrifice fly, plating senior outfielder Tara Fritscher, who ran for Zusi

• Mclelland retired the side in order in the bottom half of the inning, securing the victory

Spartan Notes

• CWRU moved to 17-3 all-time against CMU, 14-2 in the last 16 matchups, and 5-0 on the road against the Tartans

• The Spartans entered Friday ranked 27th in the NCAA Power Index (NPI) and eighth among teams who are not in position to earn their conference's automatic bid. NPI is used to determine the 22 at-large selections to the NCAA Tournament. Carnegie Mellon ranked 99th in Division III according to the metric

• Becker's home run was her third in the last two games after she slugged a pair of round trippers last Sunday against Heidelberg

• Becker had three hits in a single game for the second time this season

• Senior Elizabeth Berry, who had a pair of singles, collected her eighth multi-hit game of the season and her third in the last four games

Up Next

The Spartans wrap up the regular season with a doubleheader against the Tartans beginning at 12 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams will face off at Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh.