PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Vermont State University Castleton softball team split a Little East Conference doubleheader with Plymouth State on Tuesday afternoon. The Spartans earned a 1-0 win in the opener before falling 3-2 in 10 innings in game two.
Game 1
The Basics:
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Final Score: 1-0 Castleton
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Location: Plymouth, N.H. | D&M Park
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Records: 14-6 (6-1 LEC) Castleton | 8-12-1 (1-2 LEC) Plymouth State
How it Happened:
Castleton scored the game's lone run in the first inning, as Makayla Walsh doubled down the left field line for an RBI to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead.
The Spartans put runners on throughout, including a leadoff single from Alexis Rogers in the second and a walk from Madison Gould in the third, but couldn't add insurance. Plymouth State reached on an error in the third, but Castleton worked out of the inning.
Maddy Dudley added a single in the fifth and Carolyne Burlone drew a walk in the sixth, but the score held. Gould and the defense retired all three batters in order to secure the shutout.
Top Performers:
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Walsh, Dudley, and Rogers each recorded hits, with Walsh driving in the lone run.
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Gould tossed a complete game shutout, allowing just one hit and one walk, while striking out seven.
Game 2
The Basics:
How it Happened:
Plymouth State took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning before Castleton evened the score in the fifth. Dudley and Samera Rideout sparked the rally with back-to-back hits before Alex Brouillette delivered an RBI single to tie the game at 1-1.
The game stayed even into extra innings, where the Spartans moved ahead in the ninth. With the bases loaded, Castleton pushed across a run on a fielder's choice to take a 2-1 lead.
Plymouth State answered in the bottom half with a sacrifice fly to even the score once again. In the 10th inning, the international tiebreaker rule was implemented, placing a runner on second to begin the inning. The Panthers moved the runner to third on a wild pitch before scoring the winning run on a sacrifice fly to end the game.
Both starting pitchers from Game 1 appeared in relief during the extra-innings game.
Top Performers:
What's Next
The Spartans will return home to host Rhode Island College in a Little East Conference doubleheader on Saturday, April 18, beginning at 2 p.m.