ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL – Rochester dropped a pitcher's duel, 5-2, to Case Western Reserve on Thursday afternoon at the UAA Softball Championships and that left three teams tied for first.
 
Washington, Case, and Rochester all stand at 3-1. Washington beat Case, Case beat Rochester, and Rochester beat Washington. On Thursday, the Yellowjackets get 8^th-ranked Emory while Case plays NYU and Washington faces Brandeis. Rochester dropped from #9 in the NFCA Poll to #19 after losing to Salve Regina last Saturday. The Yellowjackets are 5-2 overall.
 
In this game, Case's Annie Wennerberg pitched four-hit ball over the seven innings with three walks and six strikeouts. She allowed two earned runs, one in the seventh inning, but then worked out of a mini-jam to end the game.
 
For Rochester, Eleni Wechsler took the loss. She pitched the first 4.1 innings, allowing seven hits and three earned runs. She walked one and fanned three. Gabi Alatorre relieved in the fifth. She allowed three hits and two earned runs in 1.2 innings.
 
Case took a 2-0 lead in the second on RBI hits by Grace Tritchler and Rebecca Taylor. Lauren Muni sliced the deficit in half in the top of the fourth when she hit a two-out home run, her first of the year. The Yellowjackets did not threaten again until the seventh inning.
 
The Spartans got the Muni run back in their half of the fifth. Molly O'Brien singled, was bunted to second, and scored on Ashley Parello's double to left center. Alatorre relieved. She yielded an infield single to Gena Roberts with Parello holding at second. She got out of it inducing the next two hitters to pop up.
 
In the Case sixth, Tritchler singled and Taylor Lemke ran for her. Taylor bunted Lemke to second and pinch-hitter Abbie Filliez homered to right, stretching the lead to 5-1.
 
Rochester staged a small uprising in the seventh, partially due to a pair of walks. Muni struck out, but Julia Liberto walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Alyssa Murillo popped up. Shelby Corning drew a walk. Kayla Kibling singled down the left field line, bringing home Liberto. It was her fifth straight game with a base hit. Pinch-hitter Sarah Wayson grounded to second base where Kibling was forced which ended the game.