PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Castleton softball team kicked off their final stretch of road games with a doubleheader against Rhode Island College Saturday afternoon, winning Game 1, 3-2 in extra innings before dropping Game 2, 9-5 to earn the series split.
 
Castleton 3, Rhode Island College 2
 
Saturday's doubleheader kicked off with a defensive stalemate in which neither side was able to get a run on the board in regulation before the Spartans (13-11, 6-4 LEC) pulled away in extras en route to a 3-2 victory. Olivia Joy earned her fifth win of the season in the circle, allowing two runs and fanning five across eight innings, while Allison Almond and Alexandra Brouillette tallied multi-hit performances at the plate.
 
The first three innings of the day's opener were a battle between Joy and the Anchorwomens' (14-14, 5-5 LEC) Abby Kidd, neither pitcher allowing even a hit. Rhode Island broke the drought in the fourth inning, before Castleton did the same in the fifth, but neither side was able to build anything from the base knocks, keeping the game knotted at zero.
 
The Anchorwomen threatened to break open the scoring with consecutive two-out singles in the sixth, but Joy remained composed and struck out her fourth batter of the game to end the inning.
 
With neither side crossing home plate through seven innings, the contest headed to extras where both the Spartans and Rhode Island College got on the scoreboard, with Castleton outlasting the Anchorwomen on the back of three runs in the top half of the eighth.
 
Kayla Fac got things started with a one-out double to left, scoring two at-bats later on an RBI single from Almond. A fielding error put Samera Rideout on first and moved Almond to second before back-to-back singles by Alexis Rogers and Miranda Fish made it a 3-0 game.
 
Rhode Island College stole two runs back on a homerun from Katelyn Ashe, but Joy once again ended the inning — and this time the game — with a strikeout to clinch the one-run victory.
 
Castleton 5, Rhode Island College 9
 
Despite the final score, much of the damage done in Game 2 came across two innings, as Castleton plated all five of their runs in the second inning while the Anchorwomen responded with seven of their nine in the third. Rogers suffered her fourth loss in the circle, allowing six runs — two earned — over two innings, with Hannah Mosher and Almond registering two hits apiece in the loss.
 
After an uneventful first inning, Fish started the Spartans' rally in the second with a single to center, stealing second on a wild pitch. Madison Wilson drew a walk to put two on before Erin Ricks' first career hit, a well-executed bunt, loaded the bases.
 
Fish was the first to score, crossing home plate on a fielder's choice. A Mosher single scored Ricks and Heinrichs and an RBI double on the ensuing at-bat by Almond made it 4-0, before Rideout knocked in the final run of the frame with a single to the shortstop to put Castleton ahead five runs.
 
Rogers faltered in the second but recovered well in a bases loaded situation to keep Rhode Island off the board, but a seven-run third inning — just two of which were earned — put the Anchorwomen in the lead for good.
 
Rhode Island added runs in the fifth and sixth innings to pad their lead, and despite getting runners on in each of the final four innings, the Spartans were unable to complete the comeback falling 9-5 and settling for the series split.
 
Next up for Castleton is their final road series of the regular season when they travel to face off against UMass Boston Tuesday, April 25. First pitch of the LEC doubleheader is at 3 p.m.