DARTMOUTH, Mass.— The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth dropped a pair of close contests as visiting Castleton University swept a non-conference doubleheader this afternoon at the UMassD Softball Field. The Spartans rallied for two runs in the top of the seventh inning to force extra innings and eventually prevailed to take the season-opener, 6-3, in nine innings. The Corsairs had two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the seventh with one-out, but Castleton worked out of the jam to capture the nightcap, 4-3.
GAME 1 | Castleton 6, UMass Dartmouth 3
UMassD got on the board in the third inning on a
Leah Major (Fairhaven, Mass.) RBI single that brought
Kylie Fletcher (Dighton, Mass.) home. The Spartans answered with a run of their own in the top of the fourth, but the Corsairs regained their lead in the following frame as Major crossed the plate off a single from
Hailey Lyons (Hayden, Idaho). A double from sophomore
Victoria Rossetti (Valley Stream, N.Y.) scored
Jill Richards (Kingston, Mass.) and gave the hosts their biggest lead of the game, 3-1. However, the Spartans would not go quietly in their final at-bats. Senior Devin Millerick (Vernon, Vt.) delivered a two-run base knock to send the game to extra innings.
UMassD nearly earned the walk-off victory in the bottom of the eighth, but Millerick had additional heroics by throwing out the potential game-winning run at the plate. Castleton rode the momentum into the top of the ninth as the Spartans plated three runs to secure the 6-3 victory.
Richards earned the start in the circle and did not yield an earned run in six innings of work. She scattered four hits and five walks, but recorded eight strikeouts. Freshmen
Abby Bedient (Windham, N.H.) and
Kaitlyn Shirshac (Enfield, Conn.) combined to throw the final three innings in relief.
Sophomore Olivia Joy (Greenfield, Mass.) went nine innings for the visitors, allowing nine hits in a complete-game performance that carried Castleton University to its first win of season.
GAME 2 | Castleton 4, UMass Dartmouth 3
The Spartans cracked the scoring column in the top of the first inning, when junior Jamie Boyle (Pownal, Vt.) laced a two-run double into the right field gap. The game remained scoreless until the fifth inning when the Spartans struck again on an RBI double from sophomore Hannah Mosher (South Glens Falls, N.Y.). The Corsairs countered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. The first three batters reached safely to set the table for Fletcher, and she delivered by lacing a two-run scoring single to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Castleton added an insurance run in the top of the seventh, but UMassD looked to create some late-game magic of its own. The Corsairs opened the frame with back-to-back singles and Fletcher notched her third RBI to whittle the deficit to 4-3. The Spartans were able to escape the jam with an unassisted out to the catcher and a running down a line drive to right field.
UMass Dartmouth returns to action Friday afternoon as they travel to the University of Southern Maine for a Little East Conference doubleheader. Game 1 will begin at 1:00 PM and Game 2 will begin at 3:00 PM, both will be streamed at littleeast.tv.
