CASTLETON, Vt. – Castleton's softball team dropped a pair of games this afternoon on the road to the Rensselaer (RPI) Engineers – 5-3 and 10-1 – at Doris Robison Field in Troy, N.Y. 

Cassidy Tedeschi turned in a solid performance in the opener with five innings pitched to go along with five runs (three earned) and one strikeout before Katie Gagne was roughed up for eight runs in just 0.2 innings pitched in the finale. Taylor Paquette, meanwhile, featured in both contests, pitching a combined 2.1 innings of scoreless softball with two strikeouts.

Offensively, Brittany Brayman and Chelsea Grady paced the Spartan attack. In the two games, Brayman went 2-for-4 with two hits and one run scored, while Grady was 2-for-4 with two hits, including a two-run home run. 

In the opener, Castleton jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Grady drove a single up the middle that brought home Kristi Lawless. However, the Engineers responded in the bottom half of the frame with four runs of their own to take a 4-1 advantage. 

RPI extened its lead to four in the bottom of the second when Jean Servidone's hit was mishandled, allowing Danielle Balestrini to cross the plate. 

The Spartans didn't give up, however, as the squad cut its deficit back to two in the top half of the third. After Jess Babcock grounded out to start the inning, Brayman was walked, putting one on with one out for Grady. The junior didn't disappoint either, as she smashed a home run to left-center to make the score 5-3 in favor of the Engineers.

Unfortunately, Castleton was unable to complete the comeback, as they were held scoreless in the final four innings of play en route to a 5-3 RPI victory. 

The Engineers carried that winning momentum into game two, as they limited the Spartan squad to just three hits while tacking on ten of their own to capture a 10-1 victory. 

Balestrini and Morgan Kollmeier started off the bottom of the first with back-to-back walks before Taylor Ten Eyck singled up the middle to plate Balestrini. Servidone followed with an RBI single of her own to give the hosts a 2-0 lead. 

The Engineers, however, weren't done, as Stephanie Caudle singled to center later in the inning to push the squad's lead to three. With two on and one out, Devan Puhl then drove an RBI double to left followed by Kacie Herity, who brought home Caudle when she reached on an error. Kollmeier finished off the inning with a bases-clearing double to right center that brought home three more to make it 8-0 in favor of the Engineers. 

Both teams remained scoreless until the top of the fifth inning when the Spartans finally got on the scoreboard after Katie Traver led off the inning with a solo shot to left center to make it 8-1. However, it wasn't enough, as Taylor Ten Eyck drove home a pair of runs with a single to centerfield in the bottom of the fifth to secure a 10-1 RPI victory. 

With the sweep, the Engineers improve to 8-2 on the season, while Castleton now holds a 6-5 record on the year. The Spartans return to action this Saturday when they open conference play at home with a doubleheader against the Lyndon St. Hornets. The opener of the two-game set is slated to begin at 1 pm with the finale following afterwards.