NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Vermont State University Castleton softball team wrapped up their final day at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. with two dominating wins. The Spartans defeated University of Maine-Farmington 11-0 in five innings, and then followed up with a 9-1 victory over St. Joseph's University Long Island.
 
A day after setting a new career high, Madison Gould outbest herself by tossing a perfect game with 10 strikeouts in Castleton's 11-0 victory. She became the third player in program history to throw a perfect game. In the same game, she went 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs and followed up in the next game going a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs and her eighth double of the year.

Records:
Game 1 – Castleton 11, ME.-Farmington 0 (5 innings)
VTSU Castleton (4-5)
University of Maine-Farmington (2-1)
 
Pitching Records:
VTSU Castleton: M. Gould (W, 2-2), 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 10 K
University of Maine-Farmington: M. Bergen (L, 1-2), 1.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

How It Happened:

• Leading the way for Castleton was Gould who hit a single up the middle and advanced to second on an error by the center fielder.
• Alexis Rogers also hit a single up the middle on the following at-bat, bringing Gould home for an RBI to give Castleton the first-game run.
• Samera Rideout continued the hitting streak with an RBI double to give Castleton a 2-0 lead at the top of the first inning.
• Castleton continued their hitting ways in the second inning with Makayla Walsh and Kayleigh Osterhaudt setting themselves into scoring positions for the Spartans. Jordan Hill advanced the runners to bring a single RBI and extend Castleton's lead to three.
• Gould was lights out on the mound, retiring all three batters she faced in the bottom of the second and fourth innings.
• Castleton found their fourth run come from the third inning with Masson Billert sending Taylor Russell home on a double down the left field line to bring the score to 4-0.
• The Spartans erupted in the fourth inning with six runs on eight hits.
• Hill and Gould each hit a single to reach first and second base. Rogers smacked a double to center field to send Gould to third and Hill home for the first-inning run.
• Rideout blasted a single deep to center field, sending home Gould and Dana Elkins, who entered as a pinch runner for Rogers to extend Castleton's lead to seven.
• Castleton loaded the bases with Walsh, Russell, and Rideout on the diamond. Abby Hacker drove a single through the left side to advance all runners and give Castleton their fourth run of the inning.
• Osterhaudt took to the plate next, where she hit a sacrifice flyout to score Russell.
• Castleton cycled through the lineup and saw Hill take her second at-bat of the inning, where she hit a single RBI to put Castleton into double-digits with a 10-0 lead.
• Russell scored Castleton's last run with a single deep to left field. As the Beavers struggled to get ahold of the ball, Russell sprinted her way around the diamond and slid into home for an inside-the-park homerun to extend the Spartans' lead to 11.
• Gould took to the mound once more and tallied her 10th strikeout of the game, securing the Spartans' victory in five innings.

 
Records:
Game 2 – Castleton 9, St. Joseph's 1 (5 innings)
VTSU Castleton (5-5)
St. Joseph's University Long Island (4-1)
 
Pitching Records:
VTSU Castleton: Alex Brouillette (W, 2-0), 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
University of Maine-Farmington: C. Herzing (L, 1-1), 1.2 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
 
How It Happened:

• The Golden Eagles took to the top of the first inning, where Antonia Busa drove in an RBI single to score the first run of the game and take a 1-0 lead.
• The Spartans quickly answered with Gould and Rogers getting into scoring positions. Russell brought in Gould and Rogers after an error by the pitcher to give Castleton their first lead of the game.
• Russell was able to make it home on the next at-bat after another error by the Golden Eagles, giving Castleton a 3-1 lead after one inning of play.
• In the second inning, Brouillette dealt heat to the Golden Eagles, striking out the side to quickly turn back over to Castleton's offense.
• Castleton continued to apply the pressure to St. Joseph's, causing them to make two costly errors the Spartans were able to capiltize on.
• With bases loaded, Walsh singled to right field and saw Rideout and Rogers reach home to extend Castleton's lead to five.
• Castleton collected two more runs on St. Joseph's fielding errors to set the score at 7-1.
• Brouillette once again made a quick outing of the Golden Eagles, punching out two batters and throwing one out at first base.
• Russell collected her second and third RBIs of the game with a single up the middle that saw Castleton go out to a 9-1 lead.
• Lauren Ross took the mound in the final inning, collecting one strikeout on 11 pitches to secure the victory for the Spartans.

Top Performers:

• M. Gould: Tossed perfect game in five innings with 10 strikeouts. 5-for-6, .833 BA, four runs and one double.
• T. Russell: 4-for-7, .571 BA, three RBIs, five runs and one inside the park homerun.
• J. Hill: 3-for-5, .600 BA, two RBIs and three runs.
• S. Rideout: 3-for-7, .429 BA, three RBIs, two runs, one double
• M. Walsh: 3-for-6, .500 BA, two RBIs, two runs, one stolen base.
• A. Hacker: 3-for-6, .500 BA, two RBIs, one double, one stolen base.
• A. Rogers: 2-for-5, .400 BA, two RBIs, two runs, one double.

 
VTSU Castleton returns to action Saturday, March 22 for a doubleheader contest against Skidmore College. With games going at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.