SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Spartans received some timely hitting and a pair of strong pitching performances to sweep Skidmore 4-3 and 5-3 on Sunday afternoon on the road. 

Castleton won the opener behind an impressive performance from Kayla Wood. The sophomore allowed just six hits and two earned runs while walking one and striking out ten batters. Freshman Taylor Paquette followed up by going 7.0 innings with eight hits and three earned runs allowed while striking out a single batter. 

Jessica Babcock finished with three hits, three runs and four RBI while Brittany Brayman went 4-for-7 with two RBI and Ruby Bushey finished with three hits. 

The Spartans opened the scoring in the first has Kristi Lawless started the game with a single before eventually scoring on a single by Brittany Brayman. 

In the top of the third Castleton added to third lead with three runs. Babcock provided two runs on a home run to centerfield to extend the lead to 3-0. Four batters later Bushey singled home Brayman for the 4-0 advantage. 

Skidmore responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame, on a two-out double and a an error, to cut the deficit to 4-2. The Thoroughbreds trimmed it to 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth as Dani DeGregory tripled home a run. 

The Thoroughbreds put a runner on second in the sixth and then in the seventh with just one out, but both times Wood came through for the Spartans.

Skidmore struck first in the second game of the day, platting a run in the second inning. Following a leadoff single by Sam Skott, Kristina Foley drove her home on a double but was thrown out trying to extend it to a triple 

Castleton countered in the top of the third as each of the two runners reached before a single by Babcock. Brayman followed with a sacrifice fly to score Lawless and Katie Traver added a run-scoring single to push the lead to 3-1 before consecutive outs ended the frame. 

The Thoroughbreds added a run in the bottom of the third to cut the deficit to one run. However, in the ensuing frame Ruby Bushey rapped a leadoff single and came around to eventually score on a passed ball for the 4-2 advantage. 

Neither team scored until the top of the seventh. Babcock reached on an error and then scored on an error by the Skidmore catcher to make it 5-2. 

In the last of the seventh each of the first two Thoroughbreds reached base. Two batters later one run scored on a wild pitch to trim it to 5-3. A single then put runners on first and third with one out, but Paquette induced an inning-ending double play to secure the win. 

The Spartans improved to 6-3 with the sweep while Skidmore fell to 4-10. Castleton returns to action on Tuesday when the team plays at RPI, beginning at 3 pm.