BOSTON, Mass. – The Vermont State University Castleton softball team lost its first two Little East Conference Championship Tournament games against Eastern Connecticut State and Rhode Island College on Thursday afternoon, marking the end of the Spartans' 2024 campaign.
Taylor Russell collected a hit in each contest with one RBI as one of eight VTSU Castleton (18-18) batters with a knock. Brianna Belisle reached base a team-high four times on a single and three walks. Allie Almond slugged the squad's lone extra-base hit, a double in the waning moments of Game 2. Alexis Rogers and Abby Hacker chipped in RBI singles while Samera Rideout used a sac fly to drive in a run.
Game 1: Eastern Connecticut State 10, VTSU Castleton 2
Madison Gould earned the opening-game start against the Warriors (20-16-1), spending 4.0 innings in the circle with three strikeouts before Katie Gallagher appeared in relief.
Eastern Connecticut leveraged four hits and a forced error to jump on the Spartans early with a five-run first stanza. Plate discipline and good instincts on the base paths produced a sixth Warrior run in the bottom of the second inning.
The Spartans began to find footing on offense in the third when Belisle walked and Rideout singled to the right side. With one out and runners on the corners, Rogers cut into the deficit by bringing Belisle across on a hit to shortstop.
In the ensuing frame, Masson Billert delivered a single up the middle and scurried to second on a passed ball to spur a two-out rally. Hacker lined a knock into center field as Billert rounded third and headed for home when the fielder misplayed it.
The Warriors embellished on their lead in the fourth thanks to an RBI double, but Gould induced two quick outs to limit the damage to just one run.
Following a scoreless defensive half, Eastern scored three fifth-inning runs to end proceedings at 10-2.
Game 2: Rhode Island College 3, VTSU Castleton 2
Trista DeLong spun four complete innings in a starting effort while holding the Anchorwomen (29-11) to two earned runs. Gould returned to pitch the fifth and sixth and picked up two strikeouts to finish her rookie season with 104 Ks.
RIC took a 2-0 edge in the initial frame as Noelle Simmons shot a RBI triple and scored on a wild pitch.
Hacker and Belisle used a walk and single, respectively, to put two aboard for the Spartans in the third inning. Almond received a free base to load the pond, setting up a sac fly by Rideout to bring Castleton within one.
DeLong stranded a runner at second base in the defensive half of the third, refusing the Anchorwomen again by forcing a bases-loaded foul out to end the fourth.
Minutes after Gould took over for the fifth, the right-hander caused Sarah Mickelson to sky a ball in foul territory on the third-base side. Belisle tracked it to the fence and leapt to make an incredible grab for the second out. Amanda Conti drove an RBI single through the middle to give RIC another two-run cushion when the Spartans came up in the sixth.
A momentum-shifting leadoff double from Almond put the green and white in scoring position. Russell followed the senior's lead by depositing an RBI base hit into right field, tightening the deficit to 3-2.
Gould worked around an Avery Katz two-bagger in the seventh to keep the gap at one run. Mikayla Brightman wore a pitch to the mid-section to open the Spartans' final push, but RIC retired the next three hitters to advance.
The Spartans finish at an even 18-18, graduating five with 15 slated to return in 2025. Among the senior class, Allie Almond concludes her prosperous Castleton career tied for fourth in hits (122), tied for sixth in runs scored (84), and second in walks (47). After four seasons in the circle as a Spartan, Katie Gallagher stands ninth in innings pitched (199) while adding 80 strikeouts and 14 victories.
