PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Castleton baseball team snagged its first-ever Little East Conference playoff victory Thursday morning, capsizing UMass Dartmouth 3-2 at Pontarelli Field.
Right-hander Brayden Howrigan was the difference-maker, tossing the program's first nine-inning complete game since 2018. The grad student finished with one earned run on four hits and three walks, fanning nine. Howrigan held the league's most prolific hitter, DJ Perron, to an 0-for-4 day with two strikeouts. Batterymate Addison Schaub caught two Corsairs (19-19) stealing without yielding a stolen base.
At the plate, the Spartans (18-21) got two hits from Jackson Cardozo as the Southington, Conn. product stole a base, scored a run, and picked up an RBI. Brandon Ramirez provided a clutch two-RBI double with a walk and an HBP. Reece de Castro also added a two-bagger while Schaub, Tyler McLain, Evan Keegan, and Kannon Dush each contributed a single.
Howrigan relinquished a free base to the Corsairs' leadoff hitter in the opening frame, but he drew back-to-back flyouts and Schaub erased the runner with a bullet to shortstop Ryan Lawrence. Castleton began to rally with two outs in the second inning on hits by Schaub and Dush, but both runners were stranded aboard.
After Schaub back-picked a runner in the top of the third, the Spartans broke through as McLain singled and took two bases thanks to wild pitches. Cardozo lined a ball between third base and shortstop to plate the go-ahead run. Hunter Perkins and Ramirez each drew a walk to load the bases, but UMass Dartmouth got out of the jam.
The Corsairs stranded three Spartans on base again in the fifth, following the defensive stand with a hit and two forced errors to tie it 1-1 in the sixth stanza. Wild pitches allowed UMD to take the lead 2-1 an inning later, but Castleton got immediate retaliation in the home half. Cardozo singled and Perkins walked with one away, forcing a pitching change. An errant pitch moved each runner up a base, then Ramirez deposited a base knock to right center for a two-RBI double that put the Spartans in front.
A sacrifice bunt placed a Corsair into scoring position with one out in the eighth, but Howrigan made the next two batters whiff to preserve the lead. Coming back for the ninth, the Enosburg Falls, Vt. native appeared to force a groundout but a throwing error put the tying run at first base. Three pitches later, Schaub cut the runner down as Lawrence applied a perfectly-timed tag, sending Howrigan into a state of exhilaration. The next two Corsairs were retired in order as Castleton eliminated UMass Dartmouth with a spirited 3-2 triumph.
The Spartans move onward and will take the field tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. Their opponent will be determined following the conclusion of Games 5-6.
