HENNIKER, N.H. – The Castleton baseball team took the back end of its doubleheader at New England College Sunday, following an 8-2 setback with an 8-4 triumph over the Pilgrims.
Reece de Castro added base hits in both contests, including his 11th career homer in game two. Addison Schaub was dominant in the Spartans' (11-16) victory, going 2-for-3 with a double and four RBIs. Freshmen middle infielders Mikey Raby and Tyler Dubreuil each collected a hit and drew a walk in game one. Kannon Dush went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, marking his third game of the week with multiple hits.
Game 1: New England College 8, Castleton 2
Luke Russell started his third collegiate contest, going 4.0 innings with five earned runs on eight hits and two walks. Nick Udell faced a trio of hitters as Sam Crawford held the Pilgrims (9-17) to one run on two hits with four strikeouts in the final 1.2 frames.
A leadoff single by de Castro was succeeded by NEC's Tim Krol fanning the next three. The home team got on the board in their second opportunity at the plate, but Castleton matched the tally in the top of the third. Raby knocked a single as Dubreuil hit into a fielder's choice, but an errant throw allowed both Spartans aboard. De Castro skied a ball to right field, allowing Raby to tag up and level the score at 1-1.
The Pilgrims edged ahead once again, stringing three singles in a row to load the bases with no outs but the Spartans limited the damage to one run. As NEC's lineup came around for the third time, all cylinders fired with two doubles and a pair of wild pitches as the deficit grew to five. Evan Keegan kicked off the next half-inning with a double, then scored on an erratic pitch with two outs.
Unfortunately, the 'Grims forced a couple of errors in the home half of the sixth with two hits to push the gap to 8-2. A final effort saw Dubreuil draw a two-out walk, but Krol drew a line out to end proceedings.
Game 2: Castleton 8, New England College 4
In his second start of the week, Joseph Voli had a strong 4.2-inning outing with six strikeouts and just one earned run. Relievers Owen Phelps and Brayden Howrigan kept NEC scoreless in the final three stanzas as Howrigan caught the final batter looking.
De Castro blasted his third leadoff homer of 2023 to begin proceedings with a lead. McLain and Perkins got on via walk and hit by pitch, respectively, as Steinman took four balls to load the bases. Schaub and Dush came up and smacked a pair of two-RBI hits, closing the opening frame with a five-run total. NEC managed to scratch three across in the second inning on one hit, three walks, and a CU error.
After free passes were dispersed to Keegan and Perkins in the fifth stanza, Schaub rose to the occasion again with a single to center field to score both runners. In the bottom half, the Pilgrims trimmed the Spartan advantage to 7-4 on an RBI walk. Jams in the fifth and sixth were limited as Castleton stranded five runners across the two frames.
Steinman started the top of the seventh with a walk as Dubreuil entered as a pinch runner. The Shelburne Falls, Mass. native stole second base, then marched to third on an error. A sacrifice fly by Trey LaVigne plated the Spartans' eighth run as Howrigan faced a quartet of pinch hitters in the home half, walking one then retiring three to force a series split.
Castleton returns home for another non-conference matchup on Tuesday, April 18 when the Spartans do battle with Union College. First pitch is at 3:30 p.m.
