CASTLETON, Vt. -- The Castleton University baseball dropped a pair of non-conference games to Little East Conference (LEC) foe Eastern Connecticut State Sunday afternoon at Spartan Field.
Eastern Connecticut State 12, Castleton 1 (seven innings)
The Spartans (9-16, 6-8 LEC) fell behind early as the Warriors (25-4, 12-1 LEC) took a commanding lead in the bottom half of the first inning. With Aubrey Ramey on the mound for the Spartans, the Warriors tallied five runs to lead off the first inning. With one out recorded in the inning, John Mesagno blasted a solo home run over the left-field fence to open the scoring for the Warriors. Three more runs were plated in the inning as Holden White hit a three-run home run over the right-field fence, giving the Warriors a 4-0 lead.
Ramey settled down after the Warriors' first inning rampage, holding the Warriors to only two hits during the next three innings. Ramey finished his outing pitching five innings, allowing eight runs on 11 hits and striking out six batters.
Trailing 12-0 in the top half of the seventh inning, Evan Keegan provided the Spartans their only run of the game. Leading off the inning, Keegan ripped a solo home run over the left-field fence to cut the deficit to 12-1.
Eastern Connecticut State 12, Castleton 4
After a scoreless first inning, the Spartans grabbed the lead in the top half of the second inning. The Spartans took a 1-0 lead as Johnny McComas tallied an RBI single through the right side of the infield, scoring Adam Newton from second base.
The Warriors took the lead back in the bottom half of the second inning as an error-plagued inning doomed the Spartans. With a runner on third base, a Johnson throwing error on a strikeout plated the tying run, and a throwing error from Newton at shortstop scored the go-ahead run shortly after.
Zack Marlow earned the start for the Spartans and was chased from the game after throwing just three innings. He only allowed two earned runs in his outing on five hits while striking out five batters.
Trailing 8-1 in the top half of the fifth inning, the Spartans began to rally as they cut the lead in half. Ryan Lawrence led off the inning with a single up the middle, followed by a Zac Willis walk. Reece de Castro then sent a towering shot to the center field fence, scoring both Lawrence and Willis with a two-RBI double. The Spartans added a fourth run shortly after as Keegan recorded an RBI single, scoring de Castro from second base.
The Warriors went on to score four more runs in the bottom halves of both the fifth and seventh innings to solidify the win and earn a second straight doubleheader win over the Spartans.
Castleton returns to action Friday, May 7, as the Spartans host nationally-ranked Southern Maine at Spartan Field in a Little East Conference doubleheader starting at 1 p.m.
