LYNDON CENTER, Vt. – After dropping two in North Atlantic Conference play against Castleton University the night before, the Lyndon State College baseball team hosted the Spartans Saturday afternoon, splitting the doubleheader.  Castleton took the first with an 8-4 win, but Lyndon was able to hold them scoreless, allowing one hit, taking game two 4-0.

The afternoon started out by paying tribute to Lyndon alumni with Skip Pound, former baseball coach, throw the first pitch.

Game 1

The Spartans quickly got on top as Taylor Vile scored on a wild pitch during the first inning.

With a scoreless second inning, the Spartans would notch four more at the top of the third.  The first came with Dillon Benham on second and Vile doubled allowing Benham home.  Two batters later, Vile scored off of a single from Dan Errico.  With Errico on third and Zach Bahan on first, Buckley doubled collecting two RBIs.

The Hornets rallied in three runs of their own in the bottom of the third.  Kevin Tufo (Colchester, Conn.) approached the plate with Nathan Stewart (Newport, Vt.) on second. Tufo singled, pushing Stewart to third.  After an error from the pitcher, Tufo advanced to second and Stewart came home to give the Hornets their first run of the game.  Tufo then advanced to third on a single from Devin Rollins (Winooski, Vt.).  Reece Tanguay (Essex Junction) dropped a sacrifice bunt to score Tufo.  After stealing third, Rollins scored on the throw to make it 5-3.

Earning his second RBI of the game, Vile plated Benham in the top of the fourth while reaching on an error.  The Hornets were unable to answer back in the bottom of the fourth.

Both teams were held scoreless in the fifth and sixth inning but the Spartans finished the seventh inning with a pair of runs scored from Errico and Bahan.  Ben Rollins (Lincolnville, Maine) finished game one for the Hornets giving them their fourth run.  The Spartans took the game 8-4.

Sam Spencer tossed a complete game with seven hits, four runs, and six strikeouts.

Jeff Williams (Gilsum, N.H.) surrendered the loss for Lyndon in three innings of work, surrendering five hits and four runs while striking out three.  Neil Robinson (Stoddard, N.H.) finished the game on the mound with five hits and three runs while striking out three.

Game 2

Freshman Zak Johnson (East Hampton, Conn.) threw a gem for the Hornets in a complete-game one-hitter with two strikeouts. 

Johnson walked Mumford to start off the game but then picked him off at first.  Vile then singled for Castleton's only hit of the game.  Vile would make his way to third on a wild pitch after Swim's groundout to first moved him to second.  Johnson then struck out Errico to leave Vile on third, and get out of the inning.

The Hornets carried the momentum into the bottom of the inning as they put two on the board.  With Cordeiro on second and Catalani on first, Eason singled up the middle to bring home Cordeiro.  The throw home moved Catalani to third and Eason to second.  Lyndon capitalized on the smart base-running as David Laroche followed with a sacrifice fly to center to plate Catalani for the 2-0 lead.

Lyndon added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth as Cordeiro singled in Rollins and Tufo to push the score to 4-0.

On the defensive side, Johnson retired 12-straight batters before walking Poland for just the third and final batter to reach base for Castleton.  Poland time on first base didn't last long as he was gunned out by Laroche trying to swipe second.

Despite two hits in the bottom of the sixth, the Hornets were unable to add any more insurance runs before the seventh.  However, Johnson didn't need any as he retired the top of the order with a strike out, ground out, and fly out.

Cordeiro smashed two hits while adding a run and two RBIs to lead the Hornets offensively in game two.

Connor Johnson suffered the loss for the Spartans throwing four innings while giving up three earned runs on four hits.

Today wrapped up NAC play for Lyndon (10-27, 6-18 NAC); however, they will host Plymouth State for a doubleheader on Tuesday, May 3 with a 2:00 p.m. start.

Castleton (29-10, 21-3 NAC) finished up the regular season today and now prepare for the playoffs.