The Case Western Reserve baseball team swept Allegheny College, 4-0 and 6-2, behind back-to-back strong pitching performances today at Nobby's Ball Park.
Sophomore pitcher Jake Shields (Hamilton, Ohio / Ross Senior) tossed a shutout over 6.2 innings of work in the first game, yielding four hits and striking out four. Junior Connor Tagg (Springfield, Va. / West Springfield) retired all four hitters he faced, getting the final out with the bases loaded in the seventh inning, and senior Dan Sondag (Cary, N.C. / Green Hope) threw a scoreless ninth inning to finish the shutout.
Sophomore catcher Eric Eldred (Tecumseh, Mich. / Tecumseh) led off the fifth inning of a scoreless game with a single and moved to second on a single by senior first baseman Rob Winemiller (Twinsburg, Ohio / University School). Freshman designated hitter Wade Hopper sacrificed the runners to second and third and one out later, freshman Danny Souza (Hollister, Calif. / Palma) came up with the biggest hit of the game, a two-run single to right field.
The Spartans added a run in the sixth inning when senior third baseman Andrew Gronski (Hilliard, Ohio / Hilliard Davidson) doubled with one out, moved to third on a single by senior second baseman Kerrigan Cain (Hartville, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban) and scored on a sacrifice fly by Eldred.
CWRU scored its final run in the eighth inning when sophomore leftfielder Josh Neal (Gaithersburg, Md. / St. John's College) reached on an eror and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Kerrigan Cain.
Eldred finished 2-for-3 with one run scored and one run batted in, and Winemiller finished 2-for-4 with one run batted in.
In the nightcap, freshman pitcher Ben Murphy (Jeromesville, Ohio / Wooster) pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up four hits and striking out three. Tagg pitched a scoreless eighth inning and the staff yielded its only two runs of the doubleheader in the ninth after 17 shutout innings.
The Spartans jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Kerrigan Cain was hit by a pitch, Neal singled, and Gronski walked to load the bases. A fielder's choice by senior designated hitter Jordan Swisher(Pittsford, N.Y. / Pittsford Sutherland) scored Kain and a two-out single by Winemiller plated Neal.
Sophomore centerfielder Antonio Damiano (Naples, Fla. / Gulf Coast) reached on an error to open the CWRU half of the second inning, stole second, and scored on a one-out single by Kerrigan Cain for a 3-0 lead.
The score remained 3-0 until the Spartans put together a three-run eighth inning. Sophomore second baseman Aaron Cain (Hartville, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban) reached on an error with one out and with two outs, stole second. Souza delivered again with a double to left field to score Cain and came around to score on a Kerrigan Cain single to right field. After a Neal single and an intentional walk to Gronski, freshman pinch-hitter Daniel Watson (St. Louis, Mo. / St. Louis Priory School) walked to score Cain.
Kerrigan Cain went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two runs batted in, Souza finished 3-for4 with a run scored and one run batted in, and Neal added two hits with one run scored.