CASTLETON, Vt.- The Castleton softball team dropped a pair of tough,
non-conference games on Wednesday evening, falling in both ends of a
doubleheader to Rensselaer at Spartan Field.
Despite leading late in the first contest, the Spartans lost 4-3 in
extra innings. The second game went scoreless into the sixth inning, but
RPI posted runs in both of the final two frames to take a 4-0 victory
and complete the sweep. The Spartans are now 11-11 on the season, while
the Engineers move to 22-6.
Chelsea Grady led the offense on the day, recording her fifth home run of the season while driving in
a pair of runs and scoring once. Jessica Babcock was 3-for-8 on the day, while Sami Carlo chipped in with a 3-for-4 afternoon. Brittany Brayman went 2-for-6 on the day, walking once and scoring twice.
Kayla Wood
suffered the loss in the first game, working all eight innings and
allowing four runs, three of which were earned, on eight hits and one
walk while striking out 10 batters.
Stephanie Caudle matched Wood's effort pitch-for-pitch, going a
complete game, allowing three runs, two earned, on 10 hits with 14
strikeouts for her 10th win of the season. Courtney McArthur led the way
with a pair of hits, including a key two-run home run for Rensselaer.
Neither side could crack the score column until the sixth inning,
when Brayman led off the inning with a base hit down the left field
line, bringing up Grady. Grady then deposited a pitch over the fence in
left center to give her team a 2-0 lead heading into the final inning.
Rensselaer was down to its final strike, with two outs, two strikes
and a runner at first, but Christine White sent a single into right
field to give RPI runners at first and second to extend the game. A
bloop single by Morgan Kollmeier scored Danielle Ballestrini and gave
the Engineers a pair of runners in scoring position as Kollmeier
advanced to second on a throw to third. A play at the plate that went in
favor of the visitors tied the game at 2-2 before Wood got a pop out to
end the inning.
Castleton went down in order in the home half of the seventh, sending
the game to extra innings. Wood retired the first two batters with a
strikeout and a pop out, but McArthur got the best of her, pulling a
two-run home run down the left field line to give the Engineers a 4-2
lead and putting Castleton on the ropes.
The Spartans would not back down, as they pushed across a run on a
throwing error to make it a 4-3 game with nobody out. Caudle buckled
down, striking out the next three batters to end the game and give RPI
the game-one win.
Taylor Paquette earned a no-decision in game two, working five scoreless innings and allowing just four hits while striking out three batters. Katie Gagne suffered her first loss of the season, going one-plus inning and giving up three runs, two earned, on three hits. Krista Carcaterra wrapped things up for Castleton, tossing one inning and allowing one unearned run while striking out one batter.
Victoria Hepworth went the distance for Rensselaer, striking out
seven batters and allowing just five hits and two walks to move her
record to 7-1.
The game was scoreless after five innings, but RPI cracked the score
column in the top of the sixth with a single to right field by McArthur
that scored Devan Puhl. Gagne would work out of a jam, limiting the
damage to just one run in the inning.
The Engineers would tack on three more in the seventh thanks to three
hits and an error. With runners on second and third, Devan Puhl ripped a
two-run triple to right center to make it a 3-0 game in favor of the
visitors. Caudle followed her with a sacrifice fly to right field to
score RPI's final run of the game and make it 4-0.
Castleton would threaten in the home half of the seventh, loading the
bases with just one out. Hepworth then induced a strikeout and a
groundout to end the game, completing the sweep for the Engineers.
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