CASTLETON, Vt. – Castleton softball picked up a pair of wins on Sunday afternoon over New England College in a North Atlantic Conference doubleheader.

Castleton came from behind to take game one, 4-3, before winning the second contest 9-1 in five innings. The Spartans' sweep moves them to 11-9 overall on the season and 6-2 in NAC play, putting them atop the conference standings. NEC falls to 13-15 overall and 4-2 in conference with the losses.

Chelsea Grady powered the Spartan offense for the second day in a row, going 4-for-6 in the doubleheader with a home run, two doubles, three runs batted in and one run scored. Timi Carone was strong out of the leadoff spot, finding her way on base four times, scoring twice and driving in one run. Kayla Wood picked up both a win and a save on the day, closing out game one with a scoreless seventh before going the distance in the game-two victory, scattering five hits and striking out six batters while allowing just one run over a combined six innings of work.

Taylor Paquette got the nod for Castleton in game one, going 3.1 innings and allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits while tying her season-high in strikeouts, with five. Katie Gagne pitched 2.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen to earn her fourth win of the season, striking out five batters without allowing a hit. Wood came on to close it out, going one inning and striking out two batters to collect her second save of the year.

The Pilgrims got on the board early in the first game, striking for a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. NEC had runners at first and third with nobody out, when it executed a double steal to score the runner from third for the early 1-0 lead. Rebecca Allen cashed in on the runner stealing second, as she drove in Gabriella Marcheschi with a base hit to center field to make it 2-0 after the visitors' half of the first. Castleton got one back in the bottom half of the inning, when Jessica Babcock ripped a one-out triple to the fence in left center and came in to score on a base hit by Brittany Brayman.

The two sides traded zeros in both the second and third innings, but NEC struck again in the top of the fourth when Joslyn Gallagher led off the inning with her third home run of the season to left center field. Paquette bounced back to get the next batter out, but a base hit and a walk ended her afternoon, as Gagne came on in relief and retired the next two hitters to get out of the jam.

After being held scoreless in both the fourth and fifth innings, Castleton's offense came to life in the bottom of the sixth, pushing across three runs, two of which came on a costly error by the Pilgrims. Castleton recorded back-to-back singles to start the inning, before a sacrifice bunt by Kristi Lawless moved the runners into scoring position. Krista Carcaterra then walked to load the bases, bringing up Sami Carlo. Carlo hit a ground ball to second base that the NEC fielder couldn't handle, scoring a pair of runs to draw the game even at 3-3. Carone then stepped into the box and ripped a single over the shortstop's head to score the go-ahead run, making it a 4-3 game.

Wood pitched a scoreless seventh inning to pick up the save, working around a one-out walk by striking out back-to-back hitters to end the game.

Seven different Spartans tallied hits in the second game of the day, led by Grady with two extra-base hits. Wood went five innings, allowing just one run on five hits while striking out four batters to move her record on the season to 4-1.

Wood picked up right where she left off in game two, getting the start and working a scoreless first frame to give her offense a chance for an early lead.

Carone led off with a triple to the left center gap before Babcock lifted a sacrifice fly into right field to make it 1-0 Castleton after one inning of play.

Going into the bottom of the third inning still up 1-0, the Spartans were looking for an insurance run. Grady came to the plate with two outs and nobody on and deposited a solo home run, her fourth in her last five games, over the left field fence to make it 2-0 in favor of the home team.

Wood had a quick inning again in the fourth, retiring the side 1-2-3 and bringing the Spartan bats up once more. McKinlie Carpenter led off the inning with a triple to center field, before Lawless walked and stole second to give Castleton runners at second and third with still nobody out. Carlo hit a ground ball back to the pitcher, but a wild throw allowed Carpenter to score to extend the lead to 3-0 and keep runners at second and third. A passed ball and a throwing error gave Castleton two more runs, making it 5-0 with just one out in the frame. A walk and a base hit brought Grady to the plate with two outs, and she delivered with a line drive into right field that went for a double and scored both runners to give the Spartans a 7-0 lead after four frames.

The Pilgrims got one back in the top of the fifth, when Brianna Castellano singled home Christine McNeil to make it 7-1. The run snapped a scoreless streak of more than 14 innings for Wood that spanned four appearances.

The Spartans were right back at it in the bottom of the fifth, as Gagne led off with a walk before being pinch ran for by Cassidy Auger. A sacrifice bunt by Carpenter moved Auger into scoring position at second base before a single by Lawless put runners at the corners. Carcaterra made her second pinch-hitting appearance of the day, driving a pitch into the gap in left center and scoring both runners to give Castleton the 9-1 victory by way of the eight-run rule.

The Spartans are back on the diamond on Wednesday, when they host Renssalaer in a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.