CASTLETON, Vt. – Matt Greene (Albany, N.Y.) pitched five solid innings and Ryan Zielinski (Schenectady, N.Y.) had three hits to lead Castleton State College to a 9-2 win over Colby-Sawyer college in non-conference baseball action Friday evening.

Castleton (6-13) has now won three straight, while Colby-Sawyer (6-10) lost for the sixth-straight game.

Matt Eisenhuth (South Newfane, Vt.) put the Spartans on the board in the first inning, connecting for his first homerun of the season with two outs and no one on. Castleton plated two more in the third inning on back-to-back sacrifice flies from David Brandt (Contoocook, N.H.) and Eisenhuth. Jack Lancelin (Chatham, N.Y.) started the inning with a walk, and Zielinski followed with a double down the left field line.

Castleton made it 4-0 in the fifth, when Brandt brought home Lancelin with a swinging-bunt single down the third-base line. The Chargers got one back in the bottom half of the inning when Justin Martin (Lebanon, N.H.) deposited one of Greene's offerings over the left-centerfield fence for his first of the season.

The Spartans pushed another run across in the sixth inning to make it 5-1 on a Lancelin fielder's choice. Colby-Sawyer appeared to be headed for a big inning in the bottom half, as a lead-off single from Brandon McFadden (Dummerston, Vt.) and walk to Jake Szulak (Middleboro, Mass.) chased Greene. A Spartan error loaded the bases with nobody out and the top of the Charger lineup at bat, but relief pitcher Patrick Riley (Strafford, Vt.) induced a five-two-three double play, and a ground out to shortstop to escape the inning unscathed.

Colby-Sawyer drew to 5-2 as Martin came home on a wild pitch after walking in the bottom of the seventh, but four Spartan runs in the eighth blew the game open.

With the bases loaded, Zielinski flew out to right field, plating the first Spartan run. After a ground out, the Chargers elected to award Eisenhuth a free pass for the second time in the game, and sophomore catcher Zak Mayo (Avon, Conn.) made them pay, clearing the bases with a double to the right-centerfield gap.

Zielinski finished 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, while Mayo finished 2-for-5 with three RBI. Lancelin collected a pair of hits, three runs scored and three stolen bases to go along with an RBI.

Greene picked up the win, allowing one earned run on seven hits and four walks while striking out six.

Martin led the Chargers going 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, while McFadden collected three hits including a double.

Jordie Scheiner (Redding, Conn.) took the loss, pitching five-and-two-thirds innings, allowing five earned runs on six hits and three walks with two strikeouts.

Both teams return to conference action tomorrow afternoon as Castleton hosts the University of Maine Farmington in a 1 p.m. NEAC East doubleheader, and Colby-Sawyer travels to Endicott for a TCCC doubleheader beginning at 12 noon.