Castleton, Vt. – The Spartans never trailed throughout the day as they took control of first place in the North Atlantic Conference with a sweep of second-place Thomas on Saturday afternoon, beating the Terriers 9-1 and 11-6. 

Castleton received a pair of strong performances for starters in both games while recorded 24 hits combined to improve to 18-2 in the NAC and 21-7 overall. Thomas, meanwhile, scored just three runs through the first 13 innings of the day as the squad dropped to 11-5 in conference play and 12-17 overall. 

Senior Ryan Zielinski went 4-for-7 on the afternoon with four runs while Matt McNamee recorded a pair of hits and drove in five runs. Connor Hoagland had a pair of hits in each game, as well as scoring four times and swiping four bases. 

Freshman Conner Johnson took the ball in the opener and went the distance. He gave up just five hits and one unearned run while striking out three to improve to 3-0 on the season. 

The Spartans gave him all the offense he would need in the bottom of the first. Zielinski ripped a one-out double to left center and Joe Borowski followed with a walk. They pulled off the double steal and Hoagland then drove in Zielinski for the 1-0 lead. McNamee followed with a two-run single to extend the lead to 3-0. Allen White concluded the scoring with an RBI single up the middle, scoring McNamee. 

Neither team scored again until the bottom of the sixth when Castleton exploded for five runs. Zielinski opened with a double and scored on a double by Borowski. Hoagland reached on an infield single, moving Borowski to third. He stole second and McNamee followed with a  fielder's choice, as the shortstop tried to throw out Hoagland at third but it went wide and Hoagland was able to score on the play, along with Borowski, for the 7-0 advantage. The Spartans' final two runs came on a 2 RBI single to center field by Tyler Lord. 

Johnson gave up one unearned run in the top of the seventh as Dillon Emerson singled, advanced to second on a passed ball and then scored on a throwing error. 

Southpaw Adam Greenlese earned the start in game two. He went the first 6.0 innings, allowing six hits and giving up a pair of earned runs while striking out five batters to improve to 7-0 on the year. 

The Spartans once again got their offense going early, as Ryan Zielinski singled and then scored on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch from McNamee. 

One inning later they added to their lead. Cameron Curler and Mat Pause earned back-to-back walks to bring Lord to the plate. He singled home Curler and then Pause and Lord orchestrated the double steal to perfection, extending the Castleton lead to 3-0.  The Spartans added two more runs an inning later to make it 5-0. 

In the top of the fourth, Thomas scored a pair of runs to cut the Castleton lead to 5-2. However, in the bottom of the frame the Spartans scored five more times. Lord and Zielinski both singled and advanced into scoring position on a bunt by Borowski. Hoagland singled home Lord and then Castleton pulled off a double steal, as Hoagland went to second and Zielinski came into score. Dan Errico came in to pinch hit and roped a double to the left-center gap, scoring Hoagland for the 8-0 advantage. White and Curler each drove in runs to extend the lead to 10-2 

Castleton added run in the bottom of the fifth and Thomas finally got on the board again, facing reliever Ethan Hanson in the top of the seventh. After a fly-out to open the inning, five straight players reached base and the Terriers scored four times in the frame to finish with an 11-6 margin. 

The Spartans return to action on Sunday for another doubleheader against Thomas, beginning at 12 pm.