DARTMOUTH, Mass. - Taking the field for the first time in over a year, the Castleton softball team saw a perfect start to the 2021 campaign. Thanks to strong pitching and timely hitting, the Spartans took both ends of Sunday's doubleheader at UMass Dartmouth.
Castleton 6, UMass Dartmouth 3
The Corsairs struck first, but the Spartans finished strong at the plate to claim the extra-innings victory. A seventh-inning single by
Devin Millerick scored
Makenna Thorne and
Jamie Boyle to tie the game, 3-3. A big ninth inning would seal the deal.
Machaila Arjavich, who went 3-for-4 at the plate, slapped an RBI single to give the Spartans a one-score advantage. In her Castleton debut, freshman
Allison Almond provided a pair of insurance runs with a base knock that scored Arjavich and Boyle.
UMass Dartmouth took a 1-0 lead in the third inning after stringing together a double and a single. In the next inning, Castleton loaded the bases with two outs before
Hannah Mosher drew a walk to erase the deficit. The Corsairs reclaimed the lead in the fifth and tacked on another in the sixth.
Going all nine innings,
Olivia Joy struck out six and didn't issue a single walk. She didn't allow a baserunner over the final three innings.
Castleton 4, UMass Dartmouth 3
The Spartans got on the board early and fended off a Corsair comeback to complete the sweep. Boyle hit a two-run double in the first. The lead would remain 2-0 until the fifth, when Mosher doubled and scored
Kate LaPan.
Castleton allowed two runs in the home half of the fifth, but got one back in the seventh as
Miranda Fish reached base on an error and
Hailee Schrader crossed the plate.
Freshman
Katie Gallagher earned a save, pitching the final two innings. The Corsairs put one on the board in the seventh before loading the bases with two outs.
Jayna Ryan recorded the final out in right field to put the finishing touches on the season-opening sweep.
After her Game 1 heroics, Arjavich got the start in the circle. She pitched five innings and struck out two.
Castleton is scheduled to hit the road for another doubleheader at Western Connecticut State on Friday. Game 1 is set for 2 PM.
