BANGOR, Maine – Castleton softball bounced back from an extra-innings
loss in game one with a game-two victory to earn a doubleheader split
against Husson today in its first North Atlantic Conference games of the
season.
The Spartans, who are now 6-6 overall (1-1 NAC), dropped game one in
eight innings by a final score of 3-2 before knocking off the seven-time
defending champions by a score of 5-2 in the second game of the day.
Husson is now 3-15 overall and 1-1 in NAC play.
Kayla Wood
propelled Castleton to victory in the second game, striking out 12
batters in a
complete-game effort while allowing just two hits. Jessica Babcock was 5-for-8 on the day with three runs scored, while Chelsea Grady and Timi Carone each went 3-for-8 over the course of the doubleheader.
Taylor Paquette
turned in a complete game in the first contest of the day, going
seven-plus innings and being shouldered with the loss in the circle.
Four different Spartans recorded a multi-hit game in the loss, as Brittany Brayman, Carone, Babcock and Grady all had two hits.
The game began as a pitchers' duel, as neither team could crack the
score column until the fourth inning. A two-out base hit by Sami Cyr
scored Lyndsay Merrill to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead after four innings
of play.
Castleton answered back with a run of its own in the top of the fifth, when Sami Carlo reached on an error with two outs and came around to score when Carone smacked an RBI double to tie the game at 1-1.
After Castleton threatened but failed to score in the top of the
sixth inning, Husson took the lead once more in the home half of the
sixth. A single and a steal by Merrill gave the Eagles a runner in
scoring position with just one out, and they capitalized as she came
around to score to give her team a 2-1 lead going into the final frame.
Castleton was down to its final out when Babcock came to the plate
and ripped a double, giving the Spartans the tying run in scoring
position with two outs. Brayman stepped up to the plate after Babcock
and tallied an RBI single to knot the game at 2-2 and force extra
innings.
With the Spartans failing to score in the top of the eighth, Merrill
wasted no time for the Eagles as she led off the inning with a
run-scoring single, driving in the runner placed on second base via the
international tie breaker and giving her team the victory.
In the second game, the Spartans got out to an early lead as they
struck for a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Carone and
Babcock each reached base to lead off the game before coming around to
score to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.
Castleton would extend its lead to 3-0 in the third inning when
Babcock led off with a base hit and scored on an RBI groundout by Grady.
The Spartans would tack on another run in the fourth inning, as McKinlie Carpenter led off the inning with a single and came around to score on a single by Carone to make it 4-0.
Husson would crack the score column in the home half of the fourth,
as they pushed across a pair of runs to make it 4-2. That was all Wood
allowed for runs in the game, as she held the Eagles scoreless for the
remainder of the day. Castleton added one final run in the fifth, when a
leadoff base hit by Grady turned into a run on a sacrifice fly by Tori Swaine.
Castleton is back in action on Sunday, April 10, as it travels to
Middlebury for a non-conference doubleheader. Game time is slated for 1
p.m.

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