CASTLETON, Vt. – Castleton softball picked up a pair of emphatic wins on senior day on Saturday, as four seniors hit home runs and Jessica Babcock became the all-time hits leader for the Spartans in a North Atlantic Conference doubleheader sweep of UMaine-Farmington.

Castleton won both games in five innings, taking game one by a final score of 12-0 and game two by a score of 9-0. With the sweep, the Spartans move to 10-2 in NAC play and have earned the top seed and hosting rights in the upcoming NAC tournament. UMF falls to 4-8 in conference play this season and 7-22 overall.

Babcock recorded her record-breaking 161st career hit in grand fashion, blasting a two-run home run to center field in the second game of the doubleheader, capping off a 3-for-3 game. Ruby Bushey, Katie Gagne and Chelsea Grady also hit home runs of their own in their final regular-season home games at Spartan Field, while Tori Swaine chipped in with a two-run homer in the second game.

Kayla Wood and Taylor Paquette were both lights-out in the circle, as each pitcher went the distance without allowing a run. Wood got the win in game one, moving her record to 7-2 on the year while striking out eight batters and allowing just two hits. Paquette picked up where Wood left off in game two, allowing just a pair of hits over five innings of work with six strikeouts to collect her fifth win of the season. Neither pitcher walked a batter in the games.

GAME ONE

The Spartans jumped out to an early lead, as they took advantage of some costly miscues by the UMF defense. Grady bounced into a fielder's choice, scoring Timi Carone before Babcock came around to score on a throwing error on the same play. Gagne then stepped up and smacked an RBI single into right field to make it 3-0 after the end of the first.

In the second inning, Castleton brought 13 batters to the plate and scored eight times to push its lead to 11-0. Swaine ripped a two-run triple in the inning before Bushey capped it off with an RBI double over the center fielder's head.

The Spartans would get their last run of the game in the third, when Katie Gagne deposited a ball over the fence in left center with two outs to give Castleton the 12-0 lead that would hold until the final out.

GAME TWO

The second game was more of the same, as Castleton put up a pair of runs in the first inning. Babcock tallied a one-out infield single to get things started for the Spartans. Brittany Brayman then ripped a ball into deep left center, but Kiana Thompson made a long, running catch for the second out of the inning. Grady stepped to the plate next and hit her sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot, giving the Spartans the early 2-0 lead.

Swaine led off the second inning with a single for Castleton before moving the second base on a sacrifice bunt by Kristi Lawless. Following the bunt, Bushey stepped up and hit her second home run of the season to left center field, pushing the lead to 4-0 in favor of the home team. The inning was capped off with an RBI double from Babcock, who finished the second game a triple short of the cycle.

In the third inning, Swaine continued her string of strong at bats, crushing a two-run home run, her second of the season, to deep left field and moving the Castleton lead to 7-0.

After a leadoff groundout in the home half of the fourth, Carone reached base on a one-out single, bringing Babcock to the plate needing just one hit to become Castleton's new all-time hits leader. The senior delivered in a big way, sending a two-strike home run over the fence in center field to give Castleton a 9-0 lead, a score that would hold through the final out.

UMF got a one-out single in the fifth inning, snapping a string of 11 straight batters retired by Paquette. The sophomore would bounce back, striking out the next two batters to complete the shutout.

The Spartans are back in action of Friday when they host the NAC Tournament. The full championship field will be announced later this evening.