JOHNSON, Vt. – Castleton needed extra innings to earn a 5-1 victory over Johnson St. in the opener but the bats came alive in the nightcap as the team finished off the sweep with a 13-6 win on Saturday. 

For the second straight game the Spartans were tied 1-1 after seven innings and once again they put up four runs in the top of the eighth inning to pull off the 5-1 win. In the second game Castleton scored six times in the first two innings as they improved to 9-13 and 7-3 in conference play. Johnson St. dropped to 5-4 in the NAC and 6-15 overall. 

Sophomore Jessica Babcock finished 4-for-8 on the day to lead the offense with a double, three-run homer and five total RBI. Classmate Brittany Brayman went 3-for-4 with two runs in the opener and then added two more hits with two RBI in the second game. Kayla Wood was impressive in 4.0 innings of action, giving up only two hits while striking out a pair in the opener. 

The first game remained scoreless until the top of the sixth when Brayman laced a two-out double to left field. Katie Gagne followed with an RBI single for the 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the frame, Veronica Arnone gave up a run on a wild pitch to tie the game. 

Neither team was able to score in the seventh. However in the top of the eighth, pinch runner Hunter Pedro started on second and came around to score on a wild pitch and a groundout to first. Babcock, Brayman and Chelsea Grady all scored to make it 5-1. 

In the second game Castleton jumped on the Badgers with four runs in the top of the fourth, jumpstarted by a Gagne single. Brayman, Babcock and Fearon all scored in the frame. 

Gagne gave up two runs in the bottom of the inning but the Spartans came back with two runs in the top of the second. Babcock doubled home Fearon for one run and Brayman drove home Brayman on the single. 

Johnson St scored three times in the bottom of the third and Castleton countered with three more runs in the top of the fourth on three-run homer. 

The Spartans added two runs in the fifth and then a run each in the sixth and seventh to finish to push their lead to 13-5. The Badgers added a run in final frame for the 13-6 final. 

Arnone earned the victory in the opener while Gagne got the win in the second game. 

The Spartans return to action on Saturday when they host Lyndon St. in a doubleheader beginning at 1 pm.