LYNDONVILLE, Vt. – The Castleton softball team cruised to a North
Atlantic Conference doubleheader sweep on Wednesday afternoon against
Lyndon St., winning both games in convincing fashion five innings.
The Spartans, who move back to .500 at 8-8 with the wins, took game
one 17-1 before winning game two, 24-1. Castleton is now 3-1 in
conference play following the sweep, while Lyndon falls to 2-12 overall
and 0-2 in NAC play.
The Spartan offense exploded for a combined 41 runs over the two-game
set, powered by the top
three hitters in the batting order. Timi Carone was 4-for-7 with seven runs, three RBIs and three walks out of the leadoff spot on the day, while Jessica Babcock
went 8-for-9 over the two-game span with 12 RBIs and seven runs while
hitting for the cycle for the second time in her career in the second
game. Brittany Brayman added four hits in nine at bats, two of which were doubles, driving in nine runs and scoring three times. Tori Swaine chipped in with a 3-for-5 day out of the No. 6 spot in the order, scoring four times.
Taylor Paquette
went the distance in the first game, allowing just one run on four hits
while striking out four batters for her third win of the season. Carone
and Babcock led the way in game one, as Carone was 2-for-3 with three
runs, two walks and an RBI while Babcock was 3-for-4 with three runs,
one walk and five RBIs.
The Spartans jumped out to an early lead in game one, plating four
runs in the top half of the first inning. Carone led off the game with a
walk, scoring on a double to the gap in left center by Babcock. An RBI
groundout by Brittany Brayman made it 2-0, before Bushey smacked a
two-run double to give the Spartans a 4-0 lead.
After Paquette set down the Hornets in order in the bottom of the
first, the Spartans tacked on two more runs in the second on a pair of
bases-loaded walks to make it 6-0. Castleton added three more in the
third inning, capped by a two-run triple by Babcock to push the lead to
9-0.
After another 1-2-3 inning for Paquette in the third, the Spartans
tacked on two more runs on yet another two-run extra-base hit by Babcock
to make it 11-0 in favor of the visitors after four innings.
The Spartan offense came out in full force in the fifth inning, as
they pushed across six more runs to take a 17-0 lead, highlighted by RBI
singles by Emma Blaiklock, Sami Carlo
and Brayman. Lyndon would tack on its only run in the bottom of the
fifth, when Kiya DeWitt scored on a stolen base as the Spartans tried to
throw a runner out at second to give the game its final score of 17-1.
Shelby Sheridan shouldered the loss for the Hornets in the first
game, going two-plus innings and allowing nine runs, seven earned, on
six hits and six walks.
Kayla Wood
tossed a complete game for her second win of the season in game two,
striking out eight batters over five innings of work while allowing just
one run on five hits and one walk.
Game two brought more Spartan offense, as Castleton belted four home
runs within the first two innings. The second batter of the game went
deep, as Babcock hit a two-run home run following a leadoff hit by
Carone. In the second inning, Katie Gagne hit a three-run shot to make it 9-0, before Chelsea Grady and Ruby Bushey each deposited two-run home runs of their own over the fence to make it 18-0 after two frames.
The Spartans would add two more runs in the top of the third inning
on RBIs by Babcock and Brayman to make it 20-0. Lyndon got one back in
the home half of the third to make it 20-1, but that was all it would
muster in the game as the Spartans tallied four more unanswered runs in
the fourth inning to give the game its final score of 24-1.
Brandi Surridge took the loss for the Hornets, getting the start and
going just one-plus inning, allowing 11 earned runs on 10 hits and two
walks.
The Spartans are back in action on Saturday when they host NAC-rival
Thomas in a key conference matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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