CASTLETON, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton baseball team clawed its way back after a 13-5 deficit following two complete innings before tying the game at 14 in the eighth. The Garnet Chargers fought back to take an 18-17 win.
The Basics:
- Final Score: 18-17 Union College
- Location: Castleton, Vermont – Spartan Baseball Field
- Records: 17-18 Union | 12-26 Castleton
How it Happened:
Union jumped out to an early 11-0 lead following the top of the first. The Spartans shot back with three runs, starting with a home run from
Sebastian Vazquez for his second of the season, while
Turner Clews sent a bunt into play, resulting in an error to bring home
Trey LaVigne (11-2). The final run of the inning came off a sacrifice fly by
Carter Dickinson to right field as
Justin Strozyk scored to cut the lead to eight (11-3). The Garnet Chargers added on two more runs at the top of the second, while the Spartans earned two more off of groundouts as the lead stood at eight (13-5).
At the top of the sixth Union added on a run via a home run (14-5) before the Spartans started clawing back. In the bottom half of the inning, Clews started off Castleton with a single to the shortstop to bring in a run, followed by a single to right field from Dickinson for another run across the plate (14-7). Two batters later,
Tommie Shaw singled to right-center field to bring in Dickinson and Clews, while
Joe Castellano followed up with a single through the right side for one more run as the lead was cut to four (14-10).
The Spartans pulled within one at the bottom of the seventh with a single from Clews and a stolen base by
Evan Primeau to cut the deficit to 14-12. Dickinson followed that with a single to bring home Clews as the Spartans found themselves with new life within one of the Garnet Chargers (14-13). Castleton exploded with energy at the bottom of the eighth as the end of the game drew near, scoring two runs with bases loaded to take a 15-14 lead. Before the inning ended, two runs scored off of walks with bases loaded to give Castleton a 17-14 lead with one inning left.
The heartbreak came at the top of the ninth as Union added four runs to the board off a double and two singles as they took an 18-17 lead, putting the Spartans up to bat. Castleton went down in order as the Garnet Chargers walked away with the tight victory.
Top Performers:
What's Next
The Spartans stay in Castleton for Friday's doubleheader (May 1) as they host UMass Dartmouth in the regular season finale. Friday is senior day, and the team will take time prior to the start of game one to honor the five graduating seniors. Game one is set to begin at 12 p.m. with game two to follow.
