Jack Anderson Sets CWRU Hit Record; Spartans Open Emory Series with Doubleheader Sweep

4/4/2025 9:50:00 PM

The Case Western Reserve University baseball team opened a four-game series with University Athletic Association rival Emory University with a sweep of a doubleheader on Friday afternoon, winning the first game 10-2 before claiming a 7-1 win in the second contest of the day at Nobby's Ballpark in Cleveland.

The Spartans, who received votes in the latest D3baseball.com Top-25 poll, improved to 16-8 overall with a 5-1 record in UAA contests this season. Emory, which also received votes in this week's poll, dropped to 17-9 overall and 3-3 in conference games.

Graduate student catcher Jack Anderson, who entered the day tied with former Spartan Chad Mullins (2008-11) for the program record with 263 career hits, collected three hits on Friday to become CWRU's new all-time hits leader. Anderson set the record with an RBI single through the right side of the infield in the bottom of the fifth inning of the first game of the day.

Senior right fielder Nick Harms added a five-for-seven showing at the plate with three runs, two RBIs, two walks, and two stolen bases, and hit safely in both games of the doubleheader to run his hitting streak to 21 consecutive games. CWRU totaled 26 hits over the two games, all but four of which were singles.

Meanwhile, the Spartans used just four pitchers over the two games - sophomore Tyler Stillson and first-year Ayush Shetty in game one and first-year Charlie Griffith and sophomore Zach Barnes in game two - who combined to allow just 11 hits and four walks while striking out 16 batters in their 18 innings of work.

Game 1 - CWRU 10, Emory 2

Harms and graduate student third baseman Zack Carinci each had four of the Spartans' 15 total hits and Stillson scattered eight hits in his six and two-thirds innings on the mound as the Spartans claimed a 10-2 win in the first game of the day over Emory.

Harms finished the game four-for-four with two runs, two RBIs, a walk, and two stolen bases, while Carinci went four-for-five with two runs, an RBI, and two stolen bases. Sophomore shortstop Nate Arterburn added two singles, scoring a run, driving in a run, and stealing a base.

The Spartans got on the board with a run in the bottom of the third after Harms reached on a one-out walk and eventually came around to score after a pair of wild pitches. CWRU broke the game open with five runs in the bottom of the fourth. With runners on first and third and nobody out, Arterburn reached on a squeeze bunt that scored senior left fielder Logan Andreyko from third. Harms followed later in the inning with a two-run single, extending CWRU's lead to 4-0, and an RBI groundout by graduate student second baseman Franco Alonso increased the lead to five runs. Graduate student first baseman Dane Camphausen added an RBI double later in the inning to put CWRU in front 6-0 by the end of the fourth.

Stillson kept the Eagles off the board until the top of the fifth when Emory struck for its first run of the day, but Anderson's record-tying single in the bottom of the inning drove in a run and Stillson later played Anderson with a sacrifice fly to give CWRU a 8-1 edge. The Spartans added two more runs in the sixth, scoring on an RBI single from Carinci and a double play with the bases loaded to take a nine-run lead.

Stillson allowed just one more run to the Eagles in the outing, allowing a runner to cross the plate in the seventh. He struck out seven and walked just two en route to earn the win and improve to 2-0 for the season. Shetty pitched the final two and a third innings of the game and retired all seven batters he faced.

Emory's Josh Zuckerman suffered the loss, dropping to 3-2 on the season.

Game 2 - CWRU 5, Emory 1

Griffith and Barnes combined to give the Spartans their best-pitched game of the season, holding an Emory team that entered the weekend leading the conference in batting average to just three hits in a 5-1 victory to complete the sweep.

Senior left fielder Jay Smith collected a career-high four hits in four at-bats and drove in a run, while Stillson went two-for-four with a pair of RBIs, a double, and a triple. Anderson added a multiple-hit game, going two-for-four with two runs and a stolen base.

Emory took a 1-0 lead with a double and a single with two outs in the first inning against Griffith. However, the Eagles would get just one more hit for the rest of the game, as Griffith and Barnes shut down the Emory offense. CWRU responded in the bottom of the third, tying the game when Carinci reached on an error, moved to third on an errant pickoff attempt, and crossed home plate after a single by Arterburn. Harms then singled with two outs in the inning and scored a batter later on a triple by Stillson.

Griffith yielded three hits in his four innings of work, striking out two and walking a batter. He retired the final three hitters he faced in the fourth inning, stranding the potential game-tying runner after allowing a leadoff double, and then gave way to Barnes who did not allow a runner to reach again until a two-out walk in the ninth, a stretch of 17-consecutive hitters retired.

CWRU added to its lead on an RBI double by Stillson in the fifth. In the seventh, Anderson hit a routine ground ball that the shortstop threw away, advancing to second on the throw and moving to third as Emory struggled to recover the ball along the right-field line. When the ball finally made it back to the infield, Anderson recognized home plate was left uncovered and scampered home just ahead of a tag attempt to increase the Spartans' lead to 4-1. In the eighth, Smith's fourth and final hit of the game scored Alonso, putting CWRU in front by four runs heading into the ninth.

After retiring the first 14 batters he faced in the game, Barnes issued a two-out walk before striking out the final batter of the game to lock down the victory and improve to 3-1 on the season.

Spartan Notes

CWRU improved to 27-38 all-time against Emory. The Spartans have now won four straight games against the Eagles and six of their last seven meetings.
The seven stolen bases by the Spartans in the first game of the doubleheader were the most by the team in a game this season and the most by the team since swiping eight bags against Grove City on March 19, 2024. CWRU totaled 10 stolen bases over the two games on Friday and has now stolen 54 bases as a team on 61 attempts. Harms leads all Spartans with 11 stolen bases on as many tries this year.
With his win in the first game of the doubleheader, Stillson now stands at 7-0 over his career, spanning 12 total appearances and 10 starts.
The three hits allowed by the Spartans were the fewest surrendered by the team since a 10-0 win over Brandeis on April 22, 2023, with Kyle Gearding registering a seven-inning two-hit complete-game shutout. CWRU's last nine-inning effort with fewer hits allowed also came against Brandeis, as former Spartans Reece Marley and Tyler Horvath allowed just two hits to the Judges on April 1, 2022.