FARMINGTON, Maine – Castleton outhit Maine-Farmington 33-17 en route to capturing the first two games of a four-game set over the Beavers at Hippach Field this afternoon – 11-9 and 15-2.

The Spartans have now won nine straight games and stand at 26-9 overall and 18-4 atop the North Atlantic Conference. UMF, meanwhile, falls to 16-14 (9-11 NAC) on the season after dropping its third straight contest.

In game one, Castleton jumped out to an 11-2 lead before the Beavers stormed back with seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but the Spartans withheld the rally to secure an 11-9 victory.

Nick Swim paced the lineup after going 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs, while Tyler Lord, Taylor Vile and Dan Errico added two RBIs apiece. For UMF, Sean Cabaniss went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored.

The Spartans got off to a quick start, as they manufactured five runs in the top of the second inning. With one on and one out, Tyler Hoare doubled to left center to bring home the first run of the game. Lord followed with an RBI single before Swim walked to score the third run of the game. Errico capped off the scoring with a two-run double down the left field line to hand the away side a 5-0 lead.

Castleton added to its lead in the following inning with three runs off of four hits to jump in front by eight. Collin Curler started the scoring with an RBI double to plate Hoare, and Vile followed later in the frame with a two-run single to push the away sides' lead to eight.

In the bottom half of the second, the Beavers responded with two runs of their own to close the gap to five. Back-to-back hits to start the inning put runners in scoring position for Cabaniss, and the junior came through with an RBI single to center. In the next at-bat, Dustin McCrossin hit into a double play, allowing a runner to score and make the score 8-2.

The Spartans were at it again in the top of the fifth, as they scored three runs to extend their lead to nine. After Curler grounded out to lead off the frame, Soren Pelz-Walsh doubled down the left field line. Lord then knocked him home with a single deep in the hole before Swim's double to center plated a pair of runs to make it 11-2 in favor of the visitors.

The hosts were able to cut their deficit to two with seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but TJ Fearon closed out the ballgame with 1.1 innings of scoreless baseball to secure an 11-9 victory.

Steven Jurkiewicz picked up his team-best sixth win of the season after tossing five innings with five earned runs and three strikeouts, while Bradley Jackson gave up five earned runs in two innings pitched in the losing effort.

The Spartans maintained their momentum into game two, as they outhit the opposition 19-4 en route to securing a 15-2 victory.

Sam Spencer turned in another solid outing for Castleton with six innings pitched and just two earned runs to improve to 4-2 overall.  Joey Humphrey, meanwhile, took the loss after tossing three innings with 11 (seven earned) runs.

The Spartans wasted little time to jump out in front, as they scored four times in the top of the first to take a four-run lead. Swim opened the scoring with an RBI double before Errico drove him home in the following at-bat with a single to right. Swahn finished off the scoring with a two-run home run to give the away side a four-run lead.

In the following frame, Castleton tacked on to more runs courtesy of a pair of RBI singles from Vile and Swim to push its lead to six. However, UMF responded with a solo home run from Grayson Beressi in the bottom half of the inning to cut the hosts' deficit back to five.

Mike Ferro recorded an RBI double in the top of the third and Pelz-Walsh followed with a sacrifice fly before Beressi hit an RBI single to left in the bottom of the third to make it 9-2 in favor of the Spartans.

Castleton shutout the Beavers over the final four innings of play, while adding four runs of their own en route to securing the doubleheader sweep with a 15-2 decision.

These two squads return to action tomorrow afternoon, as they face off for the final two games in a four-game series at Hippach Field starting at noon.