CWRU Comes Back to Split Doubleheader with No. 17 Mount Union

3/22/2026 8:12:00 PM

The Case Western Reserve University baseball team split a doubleheader against 17th-ranked Mount Union on Sunday in Alliance, Ohio, battling back from an 8-5 loss in the first game of the day to pick up a 7-6 win in its final at-bat in the second contest.

The Spartans will head into the start of conference play next weekend with an 11-7 overall record following the split, while the Purple Raiders stand at 16-4.

Stats and Standouts

CWRU's offense totaled 24 hits over the two games, including seven extra-base hits (all doubles).
Spartan pitchers struck out 21 batters and walked just eight during the day.
Senior center fielder Jasiah Harris drove in five runs over the two games, going three-for-seven with a double.

Game 1 Recap: #17 Mount Union def. CWRU, 8-5

The game was back-and-forth early, with first-year catcher Collin Pool giving the Spartans the lead in the top of the second with a sacrifice fly that scored first-year first baseman Tucker Greer, who led the inning off with a double.
Mount Union scored two runs off CWRU sophomore Charlie Griffith in the bottom of the third to take the lead.
The Spartans answered with three two-out runs in the top of the fourth inning. Senior right fielder Matt Trout tied the game with a double that plated sophomore third baseman Calvin Gelle, and Harris singled to drive in two runs and put CWRU ahead 4-2.
After the Purple Raiders scored a run in the bottom of the inning, Pool drove in a run with a two-out single to extend the CWRU lead to 5-3.
Mount Union regained the lead with a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth, and added on insurance with single runs in the seventh and eighth frames.
The Spartans had runners in scoring position in each of the final three innings, but were unable to score.
Griffith took the loss in the game, falling to 1-2 for the season. He struck out eight batters and allowed just four earned runs in the six-inning start.
Junior shortstop Nate Arterburn went four-for-four in the game with a double, while Gelle added a three-for-five performance with a run and a double.
The Spartans outhit the Purple Raiders 13-12 in the contest, but left 12 men on base during the game.

Game 2 Recap: CWRU def. #17 Mount Union, 7-6

The first three batters of the game reached for the Spartans in the game, with junior designated hitter Tyler Stillson plating a run with a base hit and Gelle scoring from third on a pickoff play to put CWRU in front 2-0.
CWRU senior Archer Stankowski shut out Mount Union through the first four innings, as the Spartans maintained a two-run lead, but ran into trouble in the fifth, allowing four runs in the frame to go ahead 4-2.
Harris provided a quick response for the Spartans, driving in two runs with a two-out double in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 4-4.
Mount Union regained the lead with a run in the sixth and scored again in the seventh to go in front 6-4.
The Spartans would even the score again in the top of the eighth. Senior catcher Sean Donahue started the rally with a one-out double, and first-year second baseman Jaxon Knutson followed with a run-scoring single. After a pinch hit single by sophomore Evan Garbincus moved Knutson into scoring position, Harris came through again, this time with a base hit, to pull the Spartans even at 6-6.
Sophomore Ayush Shetty retired the side in order in the bottom of the eighth, and in the top of the ninth, graduate student first baseman Eli Westrick led off the inning with a single, moved to second on a groundout, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored the go-ahead run on a groundout by Stillson.
Shetty worked around a one-out hit in the ninth to close out the win for the Spartans. He pitched the final four and two-thirds innings, allowing just two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts, and earned the victory to improve to 2-0 for the season.
Harris finished the game two-for-four with three RBIs and a double, while Stillson went two-for-five with a pair of RBIs. Westrick and Knutson also had two hits apiece in the late game.

Spartan Notes

Sunday's games were the Spartans' first this season against a nationally-ranked opponent. It was CWRU's first win over a ranked opponent since besting 16th-ranked Centre 12-9 in the NCAA Regional Championship game, and the team's first regular-season win over a ranked opponent since an 11-2 win over 21st-ranked Chicago on April 13, 2025.
Arterburn's four hits in the first game of the doubleheader matched his career high, set previously with a four-for-six effort against NYU on April 18, 2025.
CWRU has won eight of the last 11 matchups against Mount Union following Sunday's split.
This was the Spartans' fourth true doubleheader of the season, with the team sweeping one and splitting the other three.
CWRU is now 8-3 this season when collecting 10 or more hits in a game.
Gelle has now reached base safely in all 17 games he has played in this season. Arterburn has reached base safely in 14 consecutive games.
The Spartans lost back-to-back games for the first time this season following the setback in the opening game of the doubleheader.

Up Next

Case Western Reserve will open its 2026 University Athletic Association schedule next weekend, hosting Brandeis University at Nobby's Ballpark. The four-game series is scheduled to begin on Friday, March 27, with a single game starting at 3:00 p.m.