SPARTAN SPLIT, PANTHERS SPLIT DOUBLE-HEADER WITH CASTLETON

The Panthers offense struck in game one, but Castleton was able to silence the Plymouth bats in game two to split the double-header in Castleton, VT. With the split, the Panthers record now stands at 13-10 on the year.  

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Game 1: PSU - 10 CSC - 4

Ali Keith (senior; Northfield, NH) pitched seven strong innings and Bekah Jackson (junior; Nashua, NH) went 5-for-5 and had two RBIs to get the Panthers back on track versus Castleton.

The Panthers erupted for six runs in the second inning. With runners on first and second, Calli DeGrace (senior; Plymouth, NH) knocked a RBI single into center, the back runner was thrown out at third. DeGrace stole second to get into scoring position, and Jackson drove her in with a RBI single. Jackson stole second, to get into scoring position, and Jenn Bove (senior; Medford, MA) followed with a RBI single of her own to make the score 3-0. Taylor Mancini (junior; Gansevoort, NY) followed with a single down the line to put runners on first and second. Sam Hebert (junior; Manchester, NH) hit a RBI single to right field to score Bove and advance Mancini to third. A walk loaded the bases for Shirley Butterfield (freshman; Atkinson, NH) who hit a two-run single to right center to score Hebert and Mancini to put Plymouth up 6-0.

Castleton answered in the bottom of the second inning with a two-run homerun to make it a 6-2 game. Plymouth fought right back in the top of the third. After back-to-back singles from Jackson and Bove, Mancini doubled to left center to plate them both and extend the Panther lead to 8-2.

Castleton put two more runs on the board after a sloppy bottom of the third, but Keith wouldn't give up another run the rest of the way. The Panthers won going away when they added two insurance runs in the top of the fifth on a Jackson RBI triple and a Mancini RBI single to put the Panthers up 10-4.

Keith pitched seven strong innings with two strikeouts, one walk, while giving up eight hits and four runs (three earned). Jackson led the offensive attack, going 5-for-5 with a triple, three runs scored, two steals, and two RBIs. Mancini chipped in going 3-for-5 with a double, one run scored, and three RBIs. Bove went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Butterfield went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. DeGrace went 1-for-3 with a steal, a walk, and two runs scored, and Hebert chipped in going 2-for-4 with a run scored and a RBI. 

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Game 2: CSC - 4 PSU - 3

The Panthers loaded the bases in the seventh, but couldn't get the key hit to come back, falling in the back half of the double-header.

The Panthers jumped out to a 2-0 after three innings. They scored their first run in the first on a Castleton error. In the third, Bove drove in Jackson from third on a groundout.

Castleton answered in the fourth with a RBI single to cut the lead to 2-1. Castleton wasn't done, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth on a groundout, and back-to-back RBI singles to take a 4-2 lead.

Plymouth would fight back in the top of the sixth. Bove singled to right, and advanced to second on a Hebert groundout. Vanessa Przybylo (freshman; Queensbury, NY) doubled to drive in Bove and make the game 4-3. Whitney Roberts (sophomore; Chocorua, NH) pitched a scoreless bottom of the inning, and the Panthers headed into the seventh down one.

With two outs, DeGrace reached on an error. Jackson and Bove both followed with walks to load the bases. That's as close as Plymouth got. A groundout ended the game, and any hopes of a Panther comeback.

Jackson led the Panthers with going 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Bove was 1-for-3 with a run scored and a RBI. Przybylo chipped in going 1-for3 with a RBI. Przybylo got the start on the mound as well, finishing with four strikeouts, three walks, while allowing six hits, and four runs (two earned) in 4.2 innings of work. Roberts pitched 1.1 innings of hitless relief, only allowing one walk.