CASTLETON, Vt. – The Spartan offense started slowly on Sunday afternoon but found their grove early in the second game as they earned a split with a tough Thomas squad, falling 6-1 in the opener and then taking the second game of the day by a 10-0 margin in five innings. 

Castleton didn't allow a run over the final eight innings of the day as the split improved its record to 6-10 overall and 5-3 in the North Atlantic Conference. Thomas, meanwhile, dropped to 3-1 in conference play and 8-8 overall. 

Jessica Babcock finished 3-for-6 on the day and drove in four runs in the second game while Katie Gagne went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a pair of doubles. Veronica Arnone earned the win in the second game with 4.0 innings of scoreless work, allowing just one hit while walking three and striking out one. 

For Thomas, Kelsey Crowe was dominant in the opener, allowing just four hits through the first six innings and finishing with six strikeouts and zero walks in 7.0 innings. She also added a hit and RBI. Phyllicia Jordan went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI in the opener. 

The Terriers took advantage of a pair of Castleton errors in the opening inning to score four times. They loaded the bases with one out and a two-run single from Jordan made it 2-0. Thomas also scored a run on a fielding error and a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch. 

Brittany Brayman and Babcock each singled with two outs to put runners on the corners, but a groundout to Crowe in the circle ended the threat. 

The Terriers added to their lead with an unearned run in the top of the second and made it 6-0 in the top of the fourth on an RBI single from Crowe.

Castleton finally showed some signs of life in the last of the seventh. Gagne led off with a double to right-center and advanced to third as the two outfielders collided. She came in to score on a double by Chelsea Grady. Grady advanced to third on a wild pitch, but was stranded as the Spartans fell 6-1.

In the second game, neither team scored until the second inning. Gagne opened with a double to the right-center gap and advanced to third on a groundout. Arnone then helped her own cause with a sacrifice fly to give Castleton a 1-0 advantage. 

The Spartans came back with more runs in the bottom of the third. Kristi Lawless led off with a single and then advanced to third on a fielding error of a Tori Fearon sacrifice bunt. Both runners scored on a triple to the fence by Babcock for the 3-0 lead. Brayman reached on a fielder's choice and Gagne followed with a run-scoring single to put runners on the corners for Grady. 

Grady kept the inning going with a single up the middle to push the lead to 5-0 in favor of the Spartans. Arnone came through with another single up the middle to load the bases. Following a strikeout, Lawless hit a grounder to second, but the throw to get the force at home was dropped, making it 6-0. Castleton added four more runs in the frame, including another two-run triple from Babcock, for the 10-0 advantage.

Arnone allowed just a walk in the fourth and Kayla Wood came on in relief in the fifth. The freshman walked one while striking out a pair of batters. 

The Spartans return to action on Tuesday when they travel to face Union for a doubleheader beginning at 3 pm.