Castleton, Vt. - In game one of the North Atlantic Conference Tournament, top-seeded Castleton was upended by the fourth-seed Thomas Terriers 12-6 on Friday afternoon at Spartan Field.

John Charves led the Terriers from the plate, going 4-for-4 and driving in a pair of RBI. Nik Beeson, Thomas Cameron, and Erik Sucy each ripped two hits for the visiting squad as they beat the Spartans for the first time since Apr. 21, 2012. James McLamb tossed eight innings and kept the Spartans bats at bay to earn the victory.

Patrick Riley took the loss for the Spartans, tossing 7.2 innings and allowing 12 runs (six earned) on 11 hits. Macyn Cliffod and Cameron Curler each tallied two base knocks on the day, and each scored a run to lead the Castleton offense, which struggled to solve McLamb. 

The game began as a back and forth battle, and Thomas struck early with a run in the first frame. Cody Vigue got on base after being hit by a pitch, and came around to score on a Castleton error, giving the Terriers a 1-0 lead. 

The Spartans answered with a run in the bottom of the inning. After Tyler Lord reached on a walk and Ryan Zielinski singled, Connor Hoagland drove in a run with a sacrifice fly down the right field line, bringing in Lord to tie the game.

Thomas took the lead in the top of the second with an RBI groundout before the Spartans tied the game again in the bottom of the fourth. Curler ripped a single up the middle to bring home Dan Errico, making the score 2-2 after four innings.

In the next frame, Castleton took the lead when Hoagland drove in Lord with an RBI single down the third baseline. Castleton led 3-2 until the top of the next inning when the Terriers responded. Charves singled to left to bring home Erik Sucy, knotting the game at 3-3 in the top of the sixth.

In the top of the eighth inning, Thomas broke the game open, putting up nine runs in the frame. The Terriers sent 15 men to the plate, ripping eight hits and capitalizing on one Castleton error. Beeson, Zack Groat, Charves, and Thomas Cameron each notched RBI singles and Cody Vigue ripped a two-run double to right field as part of a nine-run inning to go up 12-3.

In the bottom of the inning, the Spartans did their best to rally back into the game, but could only muster three runs. Tyler Lord ripped an RBI single, driving in Macyn Clifford, and Joe Borowski ripped a two-run single to cut the lead to 12-6, but the rally fell short as the Spartans fell in the opening game of the tournament for the second consecutive year.

Last season, after falling in the tournament's opener, Castleton rallied to win four straight, coming through the loser's bracket of the double-elimination style tournament to take the conference crown. The Spartans will have to do the same this year if they hope to defend their title.

Thomas will advance to the second round of the tournament, and will play at 12 p.m. on Saturday, May 4 for a spot in the NAC Championship. Castleton will return to action at 9 a.m. on May 4 in their quest to battle through the loser's bracket back to the championship game.