CASTLETON, Vt. – In his first start of the season, Castleton's Conner Johnson tossed his second career no-hitter to lead the Spartans to a doubleheader sweep – 2-1 and 1-0 – over the Colby-Sawyer Chargers this afternoon at Spartan Field.
Johnson was in outstanding form on the mound in game two, tossing eight innings with just two walks and five strikeouts to improve to 1-0 on the season. Steven Jurkiewicz was just as impressive in the opener with a complete game and just two hits allowed while striking out nine.
Chris Hood turned in a solid display for the Chargers, as he took the loss in game one after tossing six innings with just two earned runs. Chris Mitchell, meanwhile, fell to 0-4 on the season after throwing 7.1 innings with just one earned run and three strikeouts.
With the sweep, Castleton now stands at 16-8 on the season and 9-4 in the North Atlantic Conference, whereas Colby-Sawyer falls to 0-19 (0-10 NAC) overall in the losing effort.
In game one, the Spartans outhit the opposition 10-2, but left eight runners on base in the contest.Nick Swim went 3-for-3 to pace the lineup, while Dan Errico finished 2-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs.
Castleton left a pair of runners in scoring position in both the second and third innings before the Chargers capitalized with their lone run of the game in the top of the fourth inning.
With one out in the frame, Jurkiewicz hit Nathan Frongillo, and Connor Henry followed with a single to center to put runners on first and third. Justin Devoid then scored Frongillo with a sacrifice fly to hand the away side a 1-0 lead.
The Spartans proceeded to leave four runners on base over the next two innings before Errico came up with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh.
Taylor Vile led off the frame by beating a throw from short, followed by Tyler Lord, who singled down the left field line to put runners on first and second with no outs. Swim then knocked an infield single to load the bases for Errico, and the junior left fielder came through with a liner towards third that plated Vile and Lord to capture the come-from-behind, 2-1 victory.
In game two, the Spartans collected six hits with Swim and Lord recording two hits apiece. Vile, meanwhile, went 2-for-3 at the plate and scored the game-winning run in the ballgame.
This contest was a pitching duel, as both Johnson and Mitchell tossed seven innings of scoreless baseball until the Spartans were able to manufacture a run in the eighth inning.
Similar to game one, Vile started the final frame by beating out a throw from short to reach first base. Lord then advanced Vile to second with a sacrifice bunt to put the junior second baseman on second. With one out in the frame, Swim stepped up to the plate and drove a single to center that allowed Vile to score, as Castleton completed the sweep over the Chargers with a 1-0 victory.
These two squads are back in action tomorrow afternoon, as the Spartans travel to Kelsey Field in New London, N.H. to face Colby-Sawyer at 4 pm in non-conference play.