Case Western Reserve University senior left-handed pitcher Reece Marley struck out six batters to set a new program career record, senior first baseman Tim Demetris hit his first career home run, and senior center fielder Connor Stephenson drove in the game-winning run with a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the ninth to help guide the 12th-ranked Spartans to a 9-8 win over John Carroll University on 'Senior Day' at Nobby's Ballpark on Sunday afternoon.

The Spartans ended their regular season with a 31-9 overall record, marking the winningest regular season in program history (CWRU had previously finished the 2011 and 2014 regular seasons with 30 wins). John Carroll dropped to 15-24 with the loss.

Marley, who also made his 39th career start on Sunday to set a new program record, went the first five innings for CWRU, giving up four runs on four hits with two walks and six strikeouts. He now has 210 strikeouts for his career, surpassing former Spartan Lance Sparks (1992-95) for the most in program history.

CWRU took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Junior left fielder Logan Andreyko led the inning off with a double and scored two batters later on a wild pitch. An error later in the inning allowed graduate student catcher Jack Anderson to score the second run of the inning and an RBI double by graduate student first baseman Dane Camphausen put CWRU up 3-0 by the end of the first.

John Carroll took the lead with four runs in the top of the third, but the Spartans tied the game in the bottom of the inning when graduate student James Powers scored on a sacrifice fly by Camphausen.

The game remained tied at 4-4 until one out in the bottom of the sixth when Demetris connected on his first career home run, sending the first pitch of his at-bat over the wall in right-center field to put the Spartans on top 5-4. Demetris also played a key role in the bottom of the eighth when he drove in an insurance run with an RBI single and scored from second on a wild pitch to give the Spartans a three-run lead. Anderson added a two-out RBI hit to give CWRU an 8-4 lead heading into the ninth.

The Blue Streaks refused to go away easily, scoring four runs in the top of the ninth, tying the game with two outs in the inning. However, CWRU went to work quickly in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases when junior right fielder Nick Harms was hit by a pitch, Camphausen walked, and senior second baseman Zack Carinci picked up a bunt single. The next batter, Stephenson, fell behind 1-2 in the count but battled back to work a full count, and took ball four just below the strike zone to force across the game-winning run and give the Spartans their second-straight walk-off win.

Demetris finished the game two-for-four with the home run, two runs scored, and two RBIs. Andreyko added a three-for-five showing at the plate with a double and a run, while Anderson and Carinci each picked up a pair of hits as well.

Anderson, who recorded the final two outs in the ninth for the Spartans, picked up the win to improve to 1-0 on the campaign. John Carroll's Owen Gerba suffered the loss, dropping to 0-1 for the season.

The Spartans will now await the release of the field for the 2024 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship field to see if their season will continue into the postseason for the second straight season and the seventh time in program history. CWRU boasts a strong resume to receive one of the two Pool B bids (for independent institutions or schools that participate in a conference without an automatic bid) or 19 Pool C 'at-large' bids with a .775 winning percentage and a strength of schedule that began the day ranked among the top-10 in Division III.

The NCAA Selection Show will air live on NCAA.com on Monday, May 13. More information will be posted to athletics.case.edu later in the week.