NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Vermont State University Castleton softball team picked up their first on the season with a 7-0 victory over Gwynedd Mercy University. Head coach
Eric Kraut earned his first career victory as the Spartans' head honcho - while
Alex Brouillette shined on the mound in her season debut by providing seven strikeouts, zero runs and limiting the Griffins to only three hits.
Records:
Castleton 7, GMU 0
VTSU Castleton (1-2)
Gwynedd Mercy University (1-5)
Pitching Records:
VTSU Castleton (1-0) W: A. Brouillette, 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
Gwynedd Mercy University (0-2) W: B. Rhodes, 5.1 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
How It Happened:
- Madison Gould hit a single at the top of the first to start things off. She advanced to third base on a throwing error to put herself into a scoring position.
- On the next at-bat, Alexis Rogers grounded out to the pitcher, allowing Gould to reach home and give Castleton the first run of the game.
- Brouillette came out strong on the mound, striking two of three batters to put the Griffins' first inning away quickly.
- Masson Billert, Abby Hacker, and Jess Heinrichs each hit singles to load the bases and start the second inning.
- Makayla Walsh brought in her first career RBI with a single that brought home Billert. Hacker also made it home after a throwing error by the second baseman to give Castleton a 3-0 lead.
- Brouillette started to heat up after putting away three batters in the bottom of the second to keep Gwynedd scoreless.
- The Spartans continued to pile in the runs, with Taylor Russell providing a double deep to left-center field, which allowed for Samera Rideout and Alexis Rogers each to come in to score to extend Castleton's lead to 5-0.
- Brouillette and the Spartans' defense continued to put away batters with ease through the middle innings and only allowing for four total Griffins to touch base.
- The Spartans tacked on two more runs in their seventh inning to solidify a 7-0 shutout victory.
VTSU Castleton returns to play with two contests Friday March 14, starting at 9 a.m. against Rochester Christian University. Followed by a 11 a.m. matchup against Lycoming at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic in North Myrtle Beach S.C.