NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Castleton University softball team ended its Myrtle Beach trip with a split on Monday. The bats were hot in a 15-1 win over Cedar Crest in the morning before a 3-2 loss in nine innings against Rivier.

The Spartans finish the trip with a 5-1 record and 8-2 including the four exhibition contests versus NJCAA teams earlier in the week.  

Senior Sara Baker finished the day 4-for-7 at the plate with a pair of RBI, a walk, and two runs scored. Devin Millerick had three hits and three RBI on the day, all in game one. Olivia Joy pitched seven innings versus Rivier in a no-decision and retired 14 of the final 15 hitters she faced, including a streak of 12 straight. In addition, Olivia Bowen surrendered one run on four hits in the first game over four innings to earn the victory in the circle, while she was also 2-for-3 with two RBI at the dish. 

Castleton is scheduled to return to play on Wednesday, March 25 at home versus Rensselaer. The conference-opener is set for Saturday, March 28 at WestConn.   

Castleton 15, Cedar Crest 1 (5 inn.)

Castleton used seven-run innings in the first and third as well as a single run in the second to account the Spartans' highest run-total thus far in a single game. 

After Cedar Crest crossed one in the top half of the first inning on a Dallas Horning sac fly. Millerick highlighted the big Spartan inning with a bases-clearing triple to right. Bowen hit a one-out single through the middle to score another one and Jayna Ryan drove in a run in on a ground out one batter later. Bowen came in to score the seventh run on a wild pitch. 

Bowen ran into some trouble in the second inning with the bases loaded and one out, but Kate LaPan caught a liner and doubled off the runner at second to get out of it. Baker doubled in the bottom half of the second to score Hannah Mosher from first to make it 8-1.

The Spartans finished off the scoring in the third with seven runs on seven hits, primarily with two outs. LaPan had an RBI single with one out, but Baker and Bowen brought in runs with two away, while Kennedy O'Dell hit a two-run double down the line in right field, and Hailee Schrader hit a triple to left one batter later. 

Bowen again loaded the bases in the fifth but induced a line drive to Millerick in center for the third out to complete the contest via the eight-run rule.       

Rivier 3, Castleton 2 (9 inn.)

Under the international tiebreaker, a runner was placed on second base to begin each half of the ninth inning. Emma Rousseau laid down a bunt for Rivier to move the runner, Hunter Greenleaf, to third. After Machaila Arjavich caught a soft liner back at her, the run scored on a wild pitch on a two-strike count.

On Castleton's turn, LaPan moved Arjavich to third before Rivier hurler Kellie Kennedy got a called third strike on a borderline pitch. Then, she got a fly ball to left to seal the victory. Kennedy went all nine innings and allowed two runs on eight hits with just one walk and seven strikeouts to earn the win.

Rivier went up 2-0 with single runs in the first two innings. With one away in the visitor's half of the first, Hunter Greenleaf hit an RBI double to left. Then, the Raiders doubled their lead in the second on a an infield throwing error after Nicole Verrette was hit by a pitch and slid up to second on a sacrifice bunt.

Rivier threatened again in the third when Katerina St. Angelo singled and Greenleaf doubled to put runners on second and third. Olivia Joy got out of the jam by inducing a ground out followed by a line-drive double play. 

Aby LaRock and Makenna Thorne delivered run-scoring singles in the bottom of the fourth to tie it at two. LaRock finished 1-for-2 with the RBI and hit the ball hard in both plate appearances. Neither team was able to score its third run until the tie-breaking rule was instituted to start the ninth.