CASTLETON, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton baseball team split with UMass Dartmouth on Friday as the regular season came to a close. The Spartans took game one, 6-5, as senior
Carter Chapman picked up his third career win, while the Corsairs took game two, 10-7, as
Justin Strozyk homered twice, and
Jack Humbach launched his first career home run.
Prior to Friday's Little East Conference doubleheader, the team recognized
Joe Castellano,
Mikey Raby Jr.,
Kevin Hewlett, Chapman, and
Luke Russell as the team's five seniors for senior day.
Game 1
The Basics:
• Final Score: 6-5 Castleton
• Location: Castleton, Vermont – Spartan Baseball Field
• Records: 13-26 (5-10 LEC) Castleton | 18-20 (10-5 LEC) UMass Dartmouth
How it Happened:
The Corsairs took a 1-0 lead at the top of the first inning to open the day off a single to right field, while the Spartans took their first lead of the day in the bottom half of the inning off a double by
Carter Dickinson for a 2-1 lead. UMass Dartmouth re-took the lead at the top of the second as the game continued its back-and-forth pattern with a double and a walk with the bases loaded to lead 3-2.
Castleton's
Sebastian Vazquez brought in the tying run at the bottom of the third off a single to second base (3-3). At the top of the fourth, the Corsairs took back the lead, scoring their final two runs of game one off a single and a double as they led 5-3. The Spartans tied it up yet again at the bottom of the fourth with a double from Strozyk to bring in
Tommie Shaw, which led to Strozyk stealing home two batters later for a 5-5 tie ball game. The winning run for game one came at the bottom of the fifth off Raby's bat with a single through the left side as Vazquez sped home for a 6-5 Castleton lead. The Spartans were able to fend off UMass Dartmouth as they stranded three runners at the top of the seventh to secure the game one victory.
Top Performers:
• Shaw led the team with four hits, while Dickinson led with two RBIs.
• On the mound, Chapman threw two strikeouts for his third win of the season, while
Nick Lescarbeau struck out three to close out the final three innings.
Game 2
The Basics:
• Final Score: 10-7 UMass Dartmouth
• Location: Castleton, Vermont – Spartan Baseball Field
• Records: 19-20 (11-5 LEC) UMass Dartmouth | 13-27 (5-11 LEC) Castleton
How it Happened:
Following a 1-0 UMass Dartmouth lead at the top of the second, Strozyk answered with his first home run of the day to left center field as the game was tied at 1-1 following two innings. The Corsairs then pulled away with a four-run lead at the top of the fourth off a single and a three-run home run (5-1), forcing the Spartans to battle back in game two. Strozyk added yet another home run to his resume for his first career game with two home runs (5-2).
The Spartans found themselves in a six-run deficit at the top of the fifth as the Corsairs added three more runs to the board (8-2). Humbach sent one just shy of the fence in left field for his first career home run at the bottom of the fifth as a spark was lit in the Spartans' offense. At the bottom of the eighth,
Alex McClelland was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded (8-4), and Raby followed suit as the lead was now three (8-5). On a wild pitch, Vazquez was able to cross home plate, cutting the deficit to two (8-6) with one inning left.
The Corsairs added on two more runs via a two-run home run at the top of the ninth, while the final run of the game came at the bottom of the ninth off a balk to bring
Tripp Shytle home. Vazquez fought as the final batter of the game, down 0-2 in the count before grounding out to the third baseman as UMass Dartmouth took game two 10-7.
Top Performers:
• Strozyk led game two with two hits and two RBIs, while Dickinson and Humbach added one hit each.
•
Trey LaVigne tied his career high of three strikeouts, which he set earlier this season, while Russell and
Jake Waller added one each.
What's Next
The sixth-seeded Spartans will head to the top-seeded Southern Maine on Wednesday, May 6, as the Little East Tournament opens play. No. 6 Castleton will face the host school No. 1 Southern Maine at 12 p.m.
