GREENSBORO, N.C. – Castleton had runners on the corners with one out in the top of the ninth, but John Todd struck out back-to-back batters to close the door and hand the Spartans a 7-6 defeat this afternoon to the Guilford College Quakers at McBane Field. 

After being shutout in its first two games of the year, Castleton's bats came alive today with 14 hits. However, the Spartans left 11 runners on base and produced six errors, as they dropped to 0-3 on the year. Nick Swim went a perfect 5-for-5 on the day with a triple and four runs scored, while Jim Buckley added three hits and two RBIs. Devin Hayes took a no-decision in his first start of the year after tossing six innings with six runs scored (two earned) and two strikeouts. Ethan Hanson took the loss despite allowing just one run in two innings of relief work. 

Four of the Quakers seven hits came from Rocco Wilcox and Andrew Brann. The duo each went 2-for-4 at the plate with one RBI. Jacob Roberts, meanwhile, added a two-run double with one run scored to help Guilford snap its two-game losing streak and improve to 3-3 on the season. Seven different Quakers took the mound this afternoon, combining to produce ten strikeouts with just four earned runs in nine innings of work. Andrew Martin picked up the win after throwing a near-perfect eighth, whereas Todd notched the save with two strikeouts in a scoreless inning of work.

The Spartans struck first with a pair of runs in the top half of the first to take a 2-0 lead. With two on and one out, Dan Errico hit a sacrifice fly to deep center to plate the first run of the game. Buckley followed in the next at-bat with an RBI single up the middle to put the away side in front by two. 

The Quakers responded in the bottom half of the second with three runs of their own to go ahead, 3-2. Logan Jones reached base from an error before back-to-back defensive miscues placed him on third with just one out. After Mitchell Stumpco walked to put runners on first and third, Brett Shapcott laid down a perfectly placed bunt that turned into an RBI single. Two batters later, Wilcox ripped a single to left that allowed two runs to score and handed the hosts a one-run lead. 

In the top of the third, Buckley added his second RBI single of the day to bring the game back to level terms, but Roberts answered for Guilford with a two-run double down the leftfield line just an inning later to push the Quaker advantage back to two. 

Guilford stayed on top until the top of the seventh when Castleton produced three runs off of two hits to even the score at six. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Mitchell Caron sent a single to left that plated Swim, and Nick Patierne's fielder's choice two batters later brought home Errico to tie the game at six. 

In the bottom of the eighth, the Quakers reclaimed the lead thanks to Brann. With runners on the corners and two outs, the junior first baseman singled up the middle to plate the eventual game-winning run and put the hosts in front, 7-6. The Spartans had a chance to tie the game in the top of the ninth with runners on first and third, but Todd punched out Mitchell Caron and Mike Ferro in back-to-back at-bats to end the scoring threat and hand the visitors a 7-6 defeat.

Castleton looks to rebound from today's loss and pick up its first win of the season tomorrow at 2 pm when it the Averett Cougars on Owen-Fulton Field in Danville, Va.