MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Vermont State University Castleton baseball was defeated by Mount St. Joseph, 9-5 Sunday afternoon.
VTSU Castleton (0-3) fell to Mount St. Joseph (1-2) in a close match up. Eight different Spartans earned hits, with
Mikey Raby Jr. (2-4) and
Jackson Cardozo (2-4)
Hunter Perkins (1-3) and
Tyler McLain (1-2) reached base multiple times.
Jared Maher (1-4) collected 2 RBI'S, while
Luke Russell made his season debut on the mound.
The Spartans came out swinging in Montgomery, collecting a team total of 10 hits in the contest. The Lions opened the scoring with a single to right field to advance the runner to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third.
Castleton found their groove in the middle innings and loaded the bases on Mount St. Joseph. Maher got the Spartans on the board with a hit that got Perkins and
Turner Clews to home. The Lions pitching became a liability for themselves, with multiple balks and walks that allowed the Spartans to score and take a 4-1 lead in the sixth inning. Russell saw six innings of action, striking out six batters and adding one walk to his time on the mound.
The Lions began putting hits together in the seventh inning which allowed them bring in four runs to take back the lead over the Spartans. Castleton were able to collect a run in the top of the eighth after another walk came from the Lions with the bases loaded to keep the Spartans down by one in the late innings. However, Mount St. Joseph would tac on three more runs to solidify their lead and defeat the Spartans 9-5.
VTSU Castleton returns to action Monday, February 26 at 5 p.m. ET (4 p.m. CT) against Millsaps College.
