GALLOWAY, N.J. — The Castleton baseball team went 1-1 in its Sunday doubleheader at Stockton, earning a 2-1 decision in game one before falling 12-2 in the second contest.
Reece de Castro collected a hit in each game as the only Castleton (3-3) player who has notched a base knock in all six contests. Evan Keegan (3-for-7) and Jackson Cardozo (2-for-7, RBI) also had multi-hit performances while Tyler Dubreuil singled in his first collegiate plate appearance.
GAME 1: Castleton 2, Stockton 1
Riley Orr started the twin bill with an exceptional scoreless six innings of work, limiting Stockton (3-2) to two free bases and one hit with five punch-outs. Winning pitcher Joseph Voli tossed one frame in relief as Brayden Howrigan closed it out, holding the Ospreys off to earn his second save of the year.
The Queensbury, N.Y. native left two stranded in scoring position to close the bottom of the first, holding the score at 0-0 until the Spartan offense clicked in the third. Brandon Ramirez drew a leadoff walk and moved to second base following a Jesus Cardenas sacrifice bunt. Ryan Lawrence grounded out which advanced Ramirez to third, then de Castro smacked a two-out single to plate the runner for the lead.
Orr was perfect in innings 2-5 with the lone defensive blemish being a dropped foul ball that had no effect. The Spartans added two hits in the fourth and sixth innings but Stockton prevented scores in both frames.
Taking over in the bottom of the seventh, Voli struck out the first batter before the Ospreys strung together three hits to tie the game at 1-1. The ensuing half-inning saw Cardozo score Tyler McLain on an RBI double to retake the advantage, putting Voli in line for his third win of the season.
Graduate student Howrigan breezed through the eighth and ninth innings in scoreless and hitless fashion, fanning one and walking one to snatch the save.
GAME 2: Stockton 12, Castleton 2
The Osprey bats erupted with 17 hits in game two, combined with solid pitching from starting arm Mike Schiattarella. Aubrey Ramey took the loss for Castleton in a 4.2-inning outing, logging one K with two walks and five hits. Four Spartan hurlers saw action in relief.
Hunter Perkins reached on an error in the top of the first, but Stockton erased the threat in a rundown moments later. Ramey dealt well in the opening two frames, but the home team started the third inning with four consecutive hits to score three. De Castro led off the next offensive chance for Castleton with a single but was stranded 90 feet from home.
With two away in the fifth, Stockton plated two on three hits and an error. The Ospreys tallied two more in the sixth, extending the gap to 7-0. Perkins started the top of the seventh inning with a solo shot, the squad's ninth homer of the year, to get the Spartans on the board.
The home half saw the Ospreys push the advantage to 10-1 on a three-run homer as the Spartans made wholesale substitutions on defense. Zack Marlow, the third reliever of the contest, got out of a bases-loaded jam to end the frame.
Stockton went to the bullpen for the top of the eighth to end Schiattarella's afternoon. Trey LaVigne drew a walk as a pinch-hitting Dubreuil singled to put runners on the corners. Jared Cafasso grounded to first base, scoring LaVigne for his first career RBI to make it 10-2.
The Ospreys put two more across as the Spartans were down to their final three outs. Ramirez got plunked and reached second base on a wild pitch, but was left stranded as Stockton got the win for a series split.
UP NEXT
Castleton is back in action next Thursday, March 9 in Montgomery, Ala. to open a four-game weekend at Huntingdon College. The Spartans face off against Edgewood at Neal Posey Field with first pitch set for 4 p.m.
