LYNDONVILLE, Vt. – The Castleton softball team cruised to a North Atlantic Conference doubleheader sweep on Wednesday afternoon against Lyndon St., winning both games in convincing fashion five innings.

The Spartans, who move back to .500 at 8-8 with the wins, took game one 17-1 before winning game two, 24-1. Castleton is now 3-1 in conference play following the sweep, while Lyndon falls to 2-12 overall and 0-2 in NAC play.

The Spartan offense exploded for a combined 41 runs over the two-game set, powered by the top three hitters in the batting order. Timi Carone was 4-for-7 with seven runs, three RBIs and three walks out of the leadoff spot on the day, while Jessica Babcock went 8-for-9 over the two-game span with 12 RBIs and seven runs while hitting for the cycle for the second time in her career in the second game. Brittany Brayman added four hits in nine at bats, two of which were doubles, driving in nine runs and scoring three times. Tori Swaine chipped in with a 3-for-5 day out of the No. 6 spot in the order, scoring four times.

Taylor Paquette went the distance in the first game, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out four batters for her third win of the season. Carone and Babcock led the way in game one, as Carone was 2-for-3 with three runs, two walks and an RBI while Babcock was 3-for-4 with three runs, one walk and five RBIs.

The Spartans jumped out to an early lead in game one, plating four runs in the top half of the first inning. Carone led off the game with a walk, scoring on a double to the gap in left center by Babcock. An RBI groundout by Brittany Brayman made it 2-0, before Bushey smacked a two-run double to give the Spartans a 4-0 lead.

After Paquette set down the Hornets in order in the bottom of the first, the Spartans tacked on two more runs in the second on a pair of bases-loaded walks to make it 6-0. Castleton added three more in the third inning, capped by a two-run triple by Babcock to push the lead to 9-0.

After another 1-2-3 inning for Paquette in the third, the Spartans tacked on two more runs on yet another two-run extra-base hit by Babcock to make it 11-0 in favor of the visitors after four innings.

The Spartan offense came out in full force in the fifth inning, as they pushed across six more runs to take a 17-0 lead, highlighted by RBI singles by Emma Blaiklock, Sami Carlo and Brayman. Lyndon would tack on its only run in the bottom of the fifth, when Kiya DeWitt scored on a stolen base as the Spartans tried to throw a runner out at second to give the game its final score of 17-1.

Shelby Sheridan shouldered the loss for the Hornets in the first game, going two-plus innings and allowing nine runs, seven earned, on six hits and six walks.

Kayla Wood tossed a complete game for her second win of the season in game two, striking out eight batters over five innings of work while allowing just one run on five hits and one walk.

Game two brought more Spartan offense, as Castleton belted four home runs within the first two innings. The second batter of the game went deep, as Babcock hit a two-run home run following a leadoff hit by Carone. In the second inning, Katie Gagne hit a three-run shot to make it 9-0, before Chelsea Grady and Ruby Bushey each deposited two-run home runs of their own over the fence to make it 18-0 after two frames.

The Spartans would add two more runs in the top of the third inning on RBIs by Babcock and Brayman to make it 20-0. Lyndon got one back in the home half of the third to make it 20-1, but that was all it would muster in the game as the Spartans tallied four more unanswered runs in the fourth inning to give the game its final score of 24-1.

Brandi Surridge took the loss for the Hornets, getting the start and going just one-plus inning, allowing 11 earned runs on 10 hits and two walks.

The Spartans are back in action on Saturday when they host NAC-rival Thomas in a key conference matchup. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.