CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton softball team hosted the University of Southern Maine in a battle for playoff positioning Sunday morning, falling behind early in a 7-5, Game 1 loss before suffering the series sweep, losing 10-6 in Game 2.
Castleton 5, Southern Maine 7
The Spartans (16-14, 7-7 LEC) struggled from the jump against the Huskies (19-15, 10-4 LEC) in Game 1, giving up four runs in the opening inning before eventually dropping the 7-5 decision.
Olivia Joy made the start in the circle, allowing five runs in one inning before
Katie Gallagher and
Alexandra Brouillette combined for six innings of two-run softball.
Castleton had a strong day at the plate themselves, with seven different Spartans tallying a hit paced by a 2-3 effort from
Hannah Mosher, but were unable to convert when they found themselves with runners in scoring position.
Southern Maine opened the game with three straight singles in what would end up being a four-run first to take the early lead. An insurance run in the second made it a 5-0 game before the Spartans began the climb back with a three-run third inning to cut into the lead.
Kayla Fac got the rally going with a single through the left side, advancing to second on a passed ball. On the ensuing at-bat, Mosher ripped her fifth triple of the season down the first base line to score Fac for Castleton's first run of the game. Consecutive singles from
Samera Rideout and
Alexis Rogers made it a 5-2 game before an RBI base knock by
Miranda Fish scored Rideout to shorten the deficit to two.
The sides traded runs over the next two innings, with the Huskies scoring two in the fourth before the Spartans responded with a pair of their own in the fifth before Castleton's comeback attempt fell short in a seventh inning in which all three outs came via strikeout.
Castleton 6, Southern Maine 10
The Spartans once again found themselves battling from behind early on in Game 2, leveling the score in the sixth inning before ultimately losing 10-6.
Lauren Ross took the loss in her third collegiate start, allowing three runs — one earned — in a combined two-and-two-thirds innings of work, with Joy and Gallagher each entering in relief.
Mosher continued her strong day at the plate, going 2-4 with a pair of RBIs while Rideout put together a 2-3 performance including the freshman's second homerun of the season.
A trio of singles and a throwing error in the top of the second made it a 2-0 game before three more runs in the third saw Castleton go down 5-0 for the second time that afternoon. The Spartans were quicker to rally in the rematch, however, scoring four of their own runs in the home half of the third to make it 5-4.
With the leadoff batter in Fac on, Rideout battled at the plate before cranking a two-out, two-RBI homer to left field to cut into the lead. The freshman now sits at a team-high 25 RBIs on the year, having brought a batter home in each of her last four games.
After Rideout's moonshot cleared the bases, a single from Rogers followed by consecutive two-baggers by Fish and Brouillette made it a one-run game heading into the fourth.
After three scoreless innings, Southern Maine added an insurance run in the sixth, capitalizing on another Spartan error to extend their lead back to two before Castleton tied the game at six in the home half on a two-RBI double from Mosher.
With the game tied heading into the seventh, Southern Maine rallied to score four runs in the top half to make it 10-6 and put the Spartans under pressure. The home side started a rally of their own, getting two on with no outs to start the frame, but three straight ground outs ended the game and handed Castleton the 10-6 loss and series sweep.
The Spartans return to action Saturday, May 6 when they host Western Connecticut in their regular season finale. First pitch of the doubleheader is at 12 p.m., with senior day festivities set to begin beforehand.
