MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Vermont State University Castleton baseball debut 2024 season with a defeat to Huntingdon College, 12-3 Friday afternoon.
VTSU Castleton (0-1) kicked off the 2024 season with the first of three games in Montgomery, Alabama against Huntingdon College. Notable Spartans were
Hunter Perkins (2-3) collecting an RBI and a run.
Tyler McLain (2-5) tabbed on an RBI of his own and
Brendan Shader (2-3) having an efficient day at bat in his Spartan debut.
Starting Pitcher
Adam Winchell took the loss on the mound, seeing four innings of action with three strikeouts.
Nicholas Griffin and
Michael Malloy relieved the remainder of the game to combine for two strikeouts of their own.
Huntingdon (3-2) took an early lead in the second inning after a passed ball error occurred for the Spartans. Castleton recovered from the mistake with some runs of their own. With bases loaded, Perkins connected on a single to right field to advance the runners and allow for Shader to find home plate. McLain picked up where Perkins left off and found a single towards the shortstop to advance the runners once again and bring in
Turner Clews to give Castleton a 2-1 lead at the top of the third.
Castleton's lead wouldn't last for long, as the Huntingdon took back the lead in the bottom of the third. The Hawks continued to extend their lead, doing damage to the Spartans defense by collecting 13 hits in the contest. The Hawks pitching combined for eight strikeouts to keep the Spartans from rallying back.
Jack Boyle earned a late RBI with Perkins scoring but it wouldn't be enough for the Spartans in this matchup. As the Hawks batted in their final runners to end the game at 12-3.
VTSU Castleton returns to action Saturday, February 24 at 1 p.m. ET (12 p.m. CT) against Sewanee.
