PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Senior pitcher Jarrett Gish (Jupiter, Fla./Suncoast) recorded his first career shutout on the mound and improved to a perfect 4-0 this spring as the Case Western Reserve University baseball team earned a 3-0 victory during the first of a three-game weekend series versus St. John Fisher College on Saturday afternoon at Dugan Yard.
The Spartans improve to 16-7 overall and have won seven of their last eight games and nine of 12 overall since returning from Florida.
St. John Fisher sees a four-game winning streak snapped and falls to 14-8.
Gish turned in his strongest outing of the season, allowing just five base hits and only three Cardinal runners to advance to second base in nine innings of work. The "southpaw" struck out five, surrendered just one walk and lowered his earned run average to 1.92 in a team-best 51.2 innings pitched. Of note, the complete game was Gish's third this spring and sixth career.
St. John Fisher starter Adam Pettinella (1-1) was the tough-luck loser, allowing one run on eight hits in eight innings with a strikeout and a walk. Tom Dybas hurled the final frame and allowed two runs on three hits.
Offensively, Case got on the board right out of the gates in the top of the first. Sophomore centerfielder William Meador (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) led off the game with a single to center, moved to second via a walk drawn by senior shortstop Matt Keen (Tallmadge, Ohio/Tallmadge), advanced to third on a groundout, and raced home on a run-scoring single through the left side off the bat of senior second baseman Paul Pakan (Tallmadge, Ohio/Tallmadge).
The Cardinals threatened Gish's bid for a shutout just once in the bottom of the eighth, but the left-hander worked around a leadoff walk and a sacrifice bunt with a fly out and a swinging strikeout.
Case tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Pakan started the inning off with a single to center, advanced to second via a sac bunt, and moved to third on a base knock to center by sophomore catcher Robert Winemiller (Twinsburg, Ohio/University School). Pakan would score Case's second run of the contest on a wild pitch, and Winemiller scored the third and final tally on a single to center off the bat of junior third baseman Andrew Frey (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor).
For the game, Meador and Pakan were each 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Shane Barley was 2-for-3 to pace the Cardinals at the plate.
The two teams will return to the diamond tomorrow afternoon for a doubleheader slated for 12:00 p.m.