MANSFIELD, Conn. - The fourth-seeded Castleton University softball team opened the Little East Conference Tournament with a 5-4 win over No. 5 seed UMass Boston and secured a Day 2 tilt with top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State. 

Castleton (18-14, 8-8 LEC) totaled just four hits in the game, but used opportunistic base-running to score just enough to fend off the Beacons, who mounted a late comeback. Allison Almond posted two RBIs to lead the Spartan lineup. UMass Boston (21-17, 7-9 LEC) collected eight hits as four different Beacons had two. 

Almond put Castleton on the board in the bottom of the first with her single, scoring Kate LaPan. UMass Boston would tally the equalizer in the third inning. In the fourth, it was Almond who would once again give the Spartans an advantage, scoring Hannah Mosher on an RBI groundout. Jamie Boyle, who ripped a double to deep left center, came around to score on Kylie Wright's fielder's choice. 

The Spartans tacked on two important insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth as LaPan and Kayla Fac both walked and later scored on wild pitches. UMass Boston's two-run sixth, powered by Brianna Melchionda's home run, brought the Beacons back within one.

Wright slammed the door on the comeback bid with a one-two-three seventh. She notched her seventh complete game and team-leading eighth victory of the season. Melchionda took the loss and allowed five walks.

Castleton's matchup with Eastern, which currently ranks fourth in the nation, is set for Thursday at 1 p.m. at Clyde Washburn Field. Both teams are guaranteed a spot in the third day of the tournament.