WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- Led by a stellar pitching performance by Max Olmsted, the Castleton University baseball team earned a 7-1 nonconference victory over Capital University Wednesday morning at the Chain O' Lakes Stadium.

With rain in the forecast and the game being pushed back an hour, the Spartans (3-2) took an early lead over the Crusaders (5-1) in the first inning. Jeremy Johnson, who has recorded a hit in all but one game so far for the Spartans, led off the game with a double to right field. After a wild pitch that sent Johnson to third, Davis Mikell recorded a sacrifice fly to center field that gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead. 

The Spartans kept the inning alive as Daniel Petrie hit a soft double that just landed inside the left-field line and then scored to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead when Evan Keegan crushed a double off the left-field wall. 

Olmsted, who pitched one shutout inning in relief against the Crusaders last Sunday, went to work as he earned his first start of the season. Olmsted was phenomenal, collecting his first career win while pitching eight strong shutout innings. The junior from East Montpelier, Vt., only surrendered four hits and struck out five batters. His eight innings pitched today was also the longest outing of his career.

After a scoreless second inning, the Spartans took the game over and tallied three more runs in the third. Petrie, who collected three hits in today's game, led off the inning with a single to center field. After a Keegan fly out and a John Stewart III single through the right side of the infield, Samuel Rodriguez swung at the first pitch he saw and singled to right field that scored Petrie from third base. Alex Borsari gave the Spartans a 5-0 lead in the very next at-bat as he ripped a one-out, two-RBI double down the left-field line. 

The Spartans would tally another run in the fourth inning. With two one and two outs, Stewart ripped an RBI single up the middle to give the Spartans a 6-0 lead.

As Olmsted continued to dominate on the mound, the Spartans added one more run in the seventh inning. After two fly outs by Rodriguez and Borsari, Reece De Castro, who battled back from an 0-2 count, ripped a 3-2 pitch over the left-field wall for his first home run of the season. 

Riley Orr entered the game in relief of Olmsted in the bottom of the ninth inning as he shut the door on the Crusaders. Despite the Crusaders tallying a run, Orr recovered and recorded the final out on a routine force out at second base.  

Castleton returns to action tomorrow, Thursday, February 27 as it takes on Cabrini University at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale, Fla., with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.