KEENE, N.H. - The Castleton University softball team remained perfect in Little East Conference play with a doubleheader sweep at Keene State Tuesday afternoon. The Spartans used the long ball to cruise to a Game 1 victory before utilizing timely hitting in a come-from-behind nightcap win. Kylie Wright hit a home run in both ends of the twinbill and was credited the win in the circle in Game 2.
Castleton 7, Keene State 4
The Spartans (11-6, 4-0 LEC) launched four home runs, the most in a single game since 2016, in a high-scoring opener. Kate LaPan and Makenna Thorne both notched their first career home runs.
Machaila Arjavich hit the first of the afternoon and fifth of her career in the first inning after Hannah Mosher's double, giving Castleton an early 2-0 lead. The advantage grew to 3-0 later in the first as Thorne singled, stole second, and was sent home by Wright's single.
Keene State (11-13, 1-5 LEC) put up a run in each of the first two innings, but the Spartans responded with LaPan's two-run home run in the fourth. Her blast to left field also scored Olivia Bowen, who drew a walk to open the frame. The fireworks continued for Castleton in the fifth inning as Thorne and Wright belted back-to-back home runs to create a 7-2 advantage.
The Owls got a pair of runs back via Sara Cote's two-run shot later in the fifth, but Olivia Joy held the Owls to just one hit over the final two innings to secure her fourth victory of the season.
Joy, in her first start since throwing a no-hitter, notched her fourth complete game. The junior fanned four and allowed eight hits. The Spartan bats gave more than enough run support with 11 hits, led by Wright with three. LaPan, Thorne, and Allison Almond followed with two apiece.
Castleton 5, Keene State 2
The Spartans trailed 2-1 until the sixth inning, when Wright notched her second home run of the afternoon. She also earned the win in the circle as she pitched a scoreless two and two-thirds in relief.
The 2-2 deadlock would stand until Castleton's half of the seventh when Mosher drove in the go-ahead run with a single. Jamie Boyle followed with another single to expand the lead before Arjavich's RBI groundout tacked on an insurance run.
Wright secured the victory, forcing the Owls to leave a runner stranded in the final half-inning. She allowed just one hit en route to her fourth victory of the season. Starting pitcher Katie Gallagher logged four and a third and allowed one earned run on four hits. Keene State's Carissa Miller, who went six innings, took the loss.
Arjavich, who put Castleton on the board with a first-inning double, led the potent lineup with two RBIs. Going 2-for-3 in the nightcap, Almond has two hits in each of the last three games. Also with a 2-for-3 performance, Mosher hiked her hitting streak to eight games with 13 hits in that span. She leads all Spartans and ranks top-10 in the LEC with a .407 batting average.
Castleton is set to host sixth-ranked Eastern Connecticut State Saturday, April 16 for a conference doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
