Super Spartans! Softball Upsets No. 14 Swarthmore to Win NCAA Regional

The Case Western Reserve University softball team shut out 14th-ranked Swarthmore College 6-0 to win the 2026 NCAA Division III Softball Championship Regional at Clothier Softball Field in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

With the win, the second-seeded Spartans have advanced to the Super Regional Round for the fourth time in program history. CWRU, who improved to 30-12 this season, will play on Thursday, May 21 to start a best-of-three series.

The top-seeded Garnet ended their season with a record of 35-6.

Junior infielder Karen Potts had a triple, three walks, and three runs scored in the game. She was named the Most Outstanding Player at the regional, going five-for-eight with six runs scored, two doubles, a triple, and an RBI over three games. First-year catcher Sophia Becker, first-year infielder Natalie Ching, junior outfielder Nylah Durham, and first-year pitcher/outfielder Camryn Mclelland were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Stats and Standouts

• Mclelland started the contest in the circle, tossing three scoreless innings with a strikeout. At the plate, she had a pair of singles in four at-bats, driving in a run

• Senior pitcher

Devanghi Misra (8-4) worked scoreless two innings in relief to earn the win, allowing three hits while striking out one

• First-year pitcher

Josephine Alspaw completed the shutout, facing the minimum six batters across two innings and registering a strikeout

• Ching, Friday's walk-off hero, drove in a pair of runs for the second consecutive game

• Senior infielder

Elizabeth Berry had two hits and drove in two runs across four at-bats

• Eight of the nine Spartan batters in the starting lineup recorded a hit with CWRU totaling 10 base hits in the game

• The shutout was the fourth of the season for the Case Western Reserve pitching staff and first since March 12 in an 8-0 win over Kean

Game Summary

• Mclelland worked around a one-out walk to pitch a scoreless first inning

• On the first pitch of the bottom of the fame, Potts drove a ball to deep right field, reaching third on a triple

• She scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ching, giving the Spartans an early 1-0 lead

• CWRU made a pair of great defensive plays in the next inning with Potts making a leaping catch and first-year

Violette Tuma throwing out a runner at second from left field

• After a pair of singles in the third inning, the Garnet had runners on the corners with two outs

• Mclelland recorded a groundout to keep the host school off the board

• Potts led off the bottom of the frame with a walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and stole third

• Berry delivered a single to left field, plating Potts and doubling the team's edge

• First-year outfielder

Sierra Ejercito, running for Berry, scored on a Swarthmore throwing error, which also put Becker at third

• She then crossed home plate on a single by Mclelland increasing the team's lead to four

• Misra entered the circle to start the fourth inning, working around a pair of hits to preserve the shutout

• Durham started the bottom of the stanza with a single, stole second, and reached third on a wild pitch

• After Potts walked and stole second, Ching drove in her second run of the game with a single with Potts crossing home plate on a groundout by Berry for the final tally of the game

• Misra retired the Garnet in order in the top of the fifth inning

• The first two batters of the sixth inning reached base for Swarthmore, but Alspaw entered the circle, recorded a groundout, a strikeout, and a popup to prevent any runs from scoring

• The Garnet had a one-out hit in the last inning, but the Spartans turned a double play to clinch the regional title

Spartan Notes

• CWRU has won 10 games in a row, tied for the fourth longest active winning streak in Division III and the longest by a Spartan team since the squad won 16 consecutive contests in 2024

• The Spartans improved to 25-16 in postseason play and 20-9 in the regional round across seven all-time appearances in the NCAA Tournament

• The Spartans recorded their five consecutive season with 30 or more wins and eighth in program history (2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2018, 2015, 2001)

• Potts's triple was her second of the season and the ninth this year by a Spartan

• Sophomore outfielder

Ashley Miller was hit by a pitch for the 10th time this season, the fourth most in a single season in program history

• Case Western Reserve improved to 19-0 in 2026 when scoring six or more runs in a game

• CWRU also reached the Super Regional Round in 2024, 2022, and 2018, winning the round in 2024 and 2018 to advance to the NCAA Finals

All-Tournament Team

Up Next

With the win on Saturday, CWRU will advance to the Super Regional Round for the fourth time in program history and will start a three-game series next week. The first game is scheduled for Thursday, May 21 at a time and location to be determined. The final two games of the series will be played on Friday, May 22.