Castleton, Vt. - The Spartan bats rallied behind Taylor Lively, as she struckout 22 batters in 13 innings pitched to hurl the Spartans to two victories over Maine Maritime Academy, beating the Mariners 8-0 and 8-1 on Sunday at Spartan Field.

Castleton put up eight runs in each of their games after only mustering five runs scored over the course of their last four games combined. Tori Fearon led the way for the Spartans, going 6-for-8 on the day with a double and two RBI. Jessica Babcock went 3-for-4 with four RBI in game one, while Chelsea Crehan and Stephanie Sylvester each went 3-for-4 in game two. 

In game one, Lively began her outing by striking out seven of the first nine batters she faced. The Spartans got on the board in the bottom of the third. After Kristy Pinkham walked, Melissa Halloran and Babcock knocked back-to-back singles to bring Pinkham home for the first run of the game.

In the bottom of the fourth, Castleton busted the game open, scoring five runs to take a 6-0 lead. Fearon led off with a single, followed by an error that allowed Sylvester to reach base. The next batter, Kristi Lawless, drove home Fearon with a single to left. Two batters later, Pinkham reached on a bunt single. Halloran drove in two with a bases loaded single to right, and Babcock followed with a two-run triple to the gap in right-center, putting the Spartans up 6-0.

Lively continued to dominate the Mariners until her counterpart, Abby Yeo stepped to the plate for Maine Maritime in the top of the sixth. Yeo ripped a triple down the left field line, but was left stranded as Lively forced Sabrina Keach to pop out to end the inning. 

In the bottom of the inning, Babcock drove in her fourth run on an RBI-single, and Fearon followed with a double to put the Spartan up 8-0 and end the game. Taylor Lively finished the game with eleven strikeouts, allowing just two hits for the win. Yeo took the loss allowing six earned runs on 12 hits.

In game two, Maine Maritime came out looking to even the series. In the first, the Mariners put their leadoff man, Andi Flannery on base and moved her to third with a sacrifice bunt and a single by Sabrina Keach. Lively crossed up her catcher, Stephanie Sylvester, on a pitch that ricocheted off the catcher's facemask and to the backstop, allowing Flannery to score and advancing Keach to second. Lively ended the Mariners' scoring threat by striking out Kelsie Hilton for the third out. 

Castleton threatened to break the second game open the bottom of the second inning. Starting pitcher Erica Taylor gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases with Spartans. Caylee Fleury stepped to the plate with one out and drew a walk to bring in Sylvester. The home team had two more cracks at bringing home more runs, but couldn't convert, leaving the game tied 1-1.

After Taylor Lively struck out the side in the top of the third, the Spartans loaded the bases again in the bottom of the inning. Chelsea Grady stepped to the plate with the bases full and launched a single just under the glove of the first baseman and into right field, scoring two Spartans. Kristy Pinkham followed with a safety squeeze bunt that brought home a run to extend the Spartan lead to 4-1.

Castleton tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the fourth, and another in the bottom of the fifth to make it 8-1, as Lively continued to handcuff the Mariners lineup. The senior hurler finished with 11 strikeouts, allowing an unearned run on two hits to earn her second win of the day.

With their victories, the Spartans bounced back from a four-game skid, improving their record to 6-14 on the year, and 4-2 in the North Atlantic Conference. The squad will host Plymouth State on Tuesday, April 9, with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.