HAMPTON, Va. – Castleton split a two-game set this afternoon at the Apprentice School, falling 15-5 in the opener to Tufts before capturing a 5-2 defeat in the finale over the MIT Engineers at the War Memorial Field. With the victory over the Engineers, the Spartans snapped their two-game losing streak and improved to 4-5 on the season.
Game One
The Spartans suffered their second straight loss in the opening game of the two-game set with a 15-5 defeat at the hands of Tufts. The Jumbos outhit Castleton 15-9, while the Spartans aided the opposition with four errors in the game.
Taylor Vile paced the attack with three hits and one run scored, including his second extra-base hit of the year. Nick Swim notched his second double of the season and drove in a pair of runs, whileDan Errico pushed his RBI total to a team-best 11 with a RBI-single in the third inning of play.Devin Hayes suffered the loss after giving up seven runs (five earned) with five walks in 4.2 innings of work.
For Tufts, Matt Moser went a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate with a double, five RBIs and two runs scored. Cody McCallum was 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored, while Tom Petry drove in three runs of his own. Matt Rothstein picked up the win with a stellar start, throwing five innings of two-run baseball (zero earned) with ten strikeouts .
The two teams traded a pair of runs in the first before Castleton took the lead, 2-1, after Errico's RBI single in the third. The Jumbos, however, responded in the bottom half of the frame with back-to-back doubles to plate three runs and jump in front, 4-2.
Tufts exploded with nine runs in the fourth and fifth innings to put the game out reach, as they handed the Spartans a 15-5 defeat in non-conference play.
Game Two
Sam Spencer tossed a complete game, allowing just two runs (zero earned) with six strikeouts to snap Castleton's two-game losing streak with a 5-2 decision over the MIT Engineers in the finale of today's two-game set. The two teams collected six hits apiece, but the Spartans took advantage of a three-run third to break open the game and secure the win.
Swim extended his hitting streak to seven games after going 1-for-4 at the plate. The junior is now hitting .432 on the season with one home run and eight RBIs. Zach Bahan went 2-for-4 with one run scored, while Dillon Benham, Jim Buckley and Vile added one RBI apiece.
For MIT, Austin Filiere led the attack with two hits and a pair of runs scored, whereas John Drago, Garrett Greenwood, Nate Rodman and David Heller contributed one hit each. David Hesslink took the loss despite giving up just three earned runs with eight strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work, while Zack Michaud and Jack Murphy combined to toss 3.1 innings of scoreless relief.
The Engineers struck first with a run in the top of the first after Filiere scored on an error. The Spartans, however, responded in the next frame to claim their first lead of the game, 3-1. Vile drove in the first Castleton run of the game with a RBI single before errant throws allowed a second runner to score on the play. In the next at-bat, Swim put the ball in play and forced another defensive miscue to plate the third run of the inning and give the Spartans a two-run advantage.
MIT cut its deficit back to one with an unearned run in the fourth, but in the following inning, Castleton pushed its advantage back to three with a pair of runs. Buckley began the scoring in the fifth with an RBI double to left center before Benham produced a run-scoring groundout two batters later to put Castleton in front, 5-2.
That was all the support that Spencer needed, as the senior right-hander closed out the game with four innings of shutout baseball to claim his second win of the year with a 5-2 victory over the Engineers.
Castleton is back in action tomorrow afternoon in Hampton, Va. with a neutral site contest against the Tufts Jumbos at noon on the War Memorial Field.