FARMINGTON, Maine – The Castleton softball team picked up a pair of key North Atlantic Conference wins on Sunday, defeating the University of Maine-Farmington in both ends of a doubleheader at Prescott Field.

Castleton took game one by an 11-1 final, before winning a 3-2 nail-biter in the second game of the day. The Spartans improve to 13-7-1 overall with the wins, and are now 5-1 in NAC competition. UMF falls to 6-18 overall and is now 0-4 in conference play.

Timi Carone's six-hit day helped lead the Spartans to victory, as the junior leadoff hitter tallied two multi-hit efforts and drove in three runs while scoring four times. Kayley Fountain and Jordan Gouger each had four hits on the day for the Spartans, and Sara Baker added two RBIs on two hits. Kayla Wood improved to 4-4 on the season in the circle, tossing all 7.0 innings in game one, allowing just two hits while striking out eight. Taylor Paquette picked up her NAC-leading ninth win of the season, going the distance and allowing two runs on five hits with a pair of punch outs.

Elizabeth Walker led the Beavers on the day, tallying three hits overall—including a solo home run in game one. Alison Hamilton added a pair of hits in the second game of the day, while Kylie Cunningham had two hits and two RBIs on the afternoon. Kailyn Hill suffered her fifth loss of the season in the first game, tossing 7.0 innings and allowing 11 runs, nine earned, on 15 hits and two walks. Anastasia Albright was solid in game two, but shouldered the loss after allowing three runs, two earned, on eight hits with three strikeouts.

Castleton posted runs in five of its seven chances at bat in the first game of the day, including a two-run first inning to jump out to an early lead. Carone led off the game with a single, and came around to score on an RBI base hit by Fountain with one out in the inning. Fountain then scored on a two-out base hit by Gouger to make it a 2-0 game. Wood held UMF hitless in the bottom of the inning, allowing the Spartans to extend their lead.

Castleton plated three runs in the top of the second, as McKinlie Carpenter crossed on an error before Carone tagged a base hit into center field to score Sami Carlo from second base. Fountain then brought home Carone with a two-out double into right field, pushing the Spartans' lead to 5-0.

Another hitless inning from Wood sent the game to the fourth inning with Castleton up 5-0, but neither team could plate a run in the third frame. In the top of the fourth, the Spartans got on the board again, this time on a sacrifice fly by Baker.

The Beavers got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning, as Walker's solo shot broke up Wood's bid at a no-hitter and a shutout with two outs in the frame. The blast cut Castleton's lead to 6-1, but the Spartans continued to pile on in the sixth.

Karli Theberge tallied an RBI groundout to score Hunter Buxton, who pinch ran after Tori Swaine led off the inning with a double. The run extended the lead back to six runs at 7-1, which was more than enough for Wood to close the game.

Wood registered back-to-back 1-2-3 innings in the fifth and sixth innings, before Castleton exploded for four more runs in the top of the seventh to blow the game open. Brooke Naylor tallied a pinch-hit single to score Emilee Teague, before Blackbird scored on a double steal. Carone followed with an RBI triple to make it 10-1, and Baker capped the inning with a run-scoring double to push the score to 11-1 in favor of the visiting Spartans.

Wood slammed the door in the ninth, allowing just a two-out base hit before finishing off the win.

Game two began similarly to the opener of the day, as Castleton jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Carone led off the game with a base knock, advancing to third base on a fielding error by the Beavers that allowed Fountain to reach first base. After Fountain stole second, Swaine registered an RBI groundout to score Carone, and Gouger singled into center field to score Fountain, putting the Spartans up by a pair of runs.

Paquette allowed a leadoff single to Hamilton, but Hamilton was quickly erased on a double play by the No.2 batter. Alyssa Dillan struck out to end the inning, bringing Castleton back to the plate. The Spartans added to their lead in the second inning, pushing across what turned out to be an all-important third run of the day when Carone drove in Carlo with a two-out double.

The game then turned into a pitchers' duel, with Paquette and Albright trading zeros until the last half of the seventh inning. Entering the seventh inning, Paquette had faced the minimum number of batters thanks to the help of a pair of double-play balls, but UMF continued to battle with the score still 3-0.

The Beavers got a lead-off base hit from Hamilton, who was cut down on a fielder's choice that allowed Thompson to reach base. A pop out to second base by Dillan made it two outs in the inning, but a base hit by Walker extended the game and gave UMF runners on second and third with two outs. Cunningham then drove a base hit up the middle and into center field, scoring both runners and narrowing the gap to one run. Paquette induced a pop out to end the game, preserving the victory for Castleton.

Overall, Castleton outhit UMF 23-7 on the day. Castleton stole a season-high six bases in the doubleheader, with Carlo and Carone each swiping two bags. UMF made three errors on the day, allowing three unearned runs, while Castleton posted a clean day on defense with no errors.

The Spartans are on the road again on Monday, taking on Thomas at 1 and 3 p.m. in another NAC doubleheader.