The Case Western Reserve University baseball team picked up two more wins in Washington, Pennsylvania on Sunday, claiming a 9-8 victory over 25th-ranked Ithaca College in the early game and a 4-3 win against the University of Mount Union in the late contest.
The Spartans completed a perfect 4-0 opening weekend with the two victories, marking the team's best start to a season since the 2014 campaign when CWRU started the season with five straight wins.
CWRU 9, #25 Ithaca 8
The Spartans scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, including the game-winner on a pinch-hit sacrifice fly from graduate student Franco Alonso, to come from behind to defeat 25th-ranked Ithaca College 9-8 in the first game on Sunday.
The win marked the team's third straight win in its final at-bat to start the season.
The Spartans finished the game with just seven hits, including a two-for-five showing with three RBIs for graduate student first baseman Dane Camphausen, but were able to take advantage of eight errors from the Bombers. Junior left fielder Logan Andreyko added a two-for-four performance at the plate in the early game.
First-year southpaw Quinn Saunders made his collegiate debut on the mound, starting and throwing 4.1 strong innings, allowing just three runs on three hits and a walk, while striking out seven batters in a no-decision. He allowed a run in the top of the first, but the Spartans evened the score in the bottom of the second when Camphausen crossed the plate on an error by the pitcher on a pickoff attempt. Ithaca regained the lead with a run in the top of the third, but in the bottom of the frame, graduate student catcher Jack Anderson reached on an error and scored later in the inning on a passed ball to knot the score at 2-2.
The game remained tied until Ithaca added another run in the top of the fifth, but CWRU once again answered back quickly, tying the score in the bottom of the inning when Anderson scored on a throwing error. The Bombers retook the lead again in the seventh, scoring three in the frame to go ahead 6-3.
The Spartans pulled back within a run in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single by Camphausen that scored senior designated hitter Zack Carinci and a pinch-hit RBI single from first-year Carson Walker in his first career at bat. However, Ithaca added on two more insurance runs in the top of the eighth, taking an 8-5 lead into the bottom of the frame.
The Spartans went to work immediately in their half of the eighth, loading the bases on an error and back-to-back hit by pitches. Junior right fielder Nick Harms followed with an RBI single and Camphausen reached on an error in the next at-bat, driving in Anderson to pull within a run with the bases still loaded and nobody out. The next batter, graduate student third baseman James Powers, was hit by a pitch to score another run and tie the score at 8-8. The Spartans then pinch hit with Alonso, who sent a fly ball to center field that was caught deep enough for Harms to score the go-ahead run from third.
First-year right-handed pitcher Zach Barnes pitched a perfect ninth, striking out a pair of batters to earn his first career save. Another first-year right-handed pitcher, Shawn Liang, earned the win in the game after allowing two runs on a hit and two walks in an inning during his collegiate debut in relief.
Ithaca's Keaton Blackwood suffered the loss in relief, falling to 0-1 on the year, as Ithaca dropped to 0-2 on the campaign with the setback.
CWRU 4, Mount Union 3
The Spartans took the lead with a three-run top of the fifth inning and held on for a 4-3 win over Mount Union in their final game in Washington over the weekend.
The CWRU pitching staff led the way in the game, scattering 10 hits and five walks over the nine innings and holding Mount Union to just three runs. Sophomore Archer Stankowski earned the first win of his career in his first collegiate start, going the first five innings and allowing two runs on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts. First-year Tyler Stillson followed with 2.2 innings of one-run baseball in his collegiate debut on the mound, allowing five hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Sophomore Austin McGowan closed out the victory with 1.1 innings of scoreless pitching, giving up just a hit and a walk with one strikeout for his first collegiate save.
Meanwhile, six different Spartans had one hit in the game, including doubles for Anderson, Carinci, and Powers.
In the top of the first, Carinci doubled with one out, advanced to third base on a passed ball, and scored on an RBI groundout by Harms to give CWRU a 1-0 lead. The run held up until the third when the Purple Raiders tied the game on a sacrifice fly.
CWRU broke through for three runs with two outs in the fifth, as first-year second baseman Nate Arterburn singled to plate both Andreyko and Powers. Anderson followed with a double in the next at-bat to score Arterburn and give the Spartans a 4-1 advantage.
Mount Union got a run back off Stankowski with a sacrifice fly in the fifth, but the Spartans maintained a two-run lead until the bottom of the eighth. After two quick outs to start the inning, the Purple Raiders scored a run and loaded the bases after three straight hits and a walk off Stillson. McGowan entered the game to get the final out in the eighth and then worked around a two-out walk and single in the ninth to secure the victory.
Mount Union left a total of 13 men on base in the game, including eight in the final three innings. The Purple Raiders' Zachary Breeden started and suffered the loss on the mound, falling to 0-1 on the year.
The Spartans will be back in action next weekend with a three-game series against Wooster, starting with a doubleheader in Wooster, Ohio at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.