OBERLIN, Ohio - Senior shortstop Andrew Frey (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) went a combined 8-for-11 with seven RBI to lead the No. 18 nationally ranked Case Western Reserve University baseball team to a doubleheader sweep at Oberlin College on Thursday afternoon at Dill Field.
The Spartans (25-7) pounded out 18 hits to win the opener, 15-1, then rallied from two down in the last inning to defeat the Yeomen (13-13), 9-7, in the nightcap.
With today's results, the Spartans are now 19-0 in games where they led after six innings. CWRU has also scored at least 10 runs in a game 13 times and recorded double-digit hits 21 times.
Frey collected a career-best five hits in six in-bats in game one, and he hit a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh inning of game two. Frey's eight hits for the day included two doubles and a triple.
In game one, the Spartans scored two in the top of the second as Frey provided an RBI single then added three in the third with an RBI single by sophomore first baseman Noah Sherman (Kensington, Md./Georgetown Preparatory) and an RBI double by Zack Tobias (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair). After single runs in the fourth and fifth, the Spartans blew the game open with eight in the sixth. Sherman doubled home a run, and junior second baseman Kerrigan Cain (Hartville, Ohio/Archbishop Hoban) singled home a pair. Oberlin's lone run came on a groundout in the sixth.
On the mound, senior ace John Fortunato (Toledo, Ohio/St. Francis de Sales) improved to 6-1 for the season with five shutout innings and two strikeouts. Kevin Spring (1-1) took the loss for the Yeomen.
Offensively, Frey was 5-for-6 with three RBI. Cain finished 4-for-5 with three RBI, and Tobias was 3-for-4 with a career-high three doubles.
Game two saw the Spartans jump out to a 3-0 lead as Frey drove in two with a double in the fourth. A two-run homer by Kyle Decker brought the hosts to within one in the bottom of the fourth, and three more runs in the sixth put Oberlin on top 5-3. Jeff Schweighoffe homered, while Danny Baldocchi and Kevin Verne each hit RBI doubles for the Yeomen.
Undaunted, the Spartans rallied with six runs in the top of the seventh. After an RBI single by junior catcher Jordan Swisher (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Sutherland) and a run-scoring fielding error, Frey hit a two-run double to center. A failed pickoff attempt brought home two more Spartans, and those runs would prove key as Oberlin scored two in its half of the final frame. With the bases loaded and no out, junior Kevin Johnstone (Placentia, Calif./Valencia) came out of the bullpen and recorded three-straight outs, the final two of which came on strikeouts.
Frey was 3-for-5 with two doubles, a triple and four RBI. Sophomore Connor Tagg (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) threw 2/3 of an inning to move to 2-0 for the year. Johnstone picked up his first save.
Kyle Dominy (1-1) suffered the loss for Oberlin.
The Spartans have Easter weekend off from competition and will be back in action on the road on Tuesday, April 22 at Allegheny College. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 1:00 p.m. in Meadville, Pennsylvania.