CASTLETON, Vt. – The Lyndon State College baseball team split with Castleton University in dramatic fashion Thursday afternoon at Spartan Field as they fell 8-1 in the opening game before coming back for a 5-4 win in the second game of the North Atlantic Conference doubleheader.

Game 1

Castleton came on strong down the stretch in the opener, with all eight runs coming over the final four frames. The Spartans plated three runs in the bottom of the fourth to break a scoreless tie.  Dillon Benham led the inning off with a single to left field, and after Zach Bahan was hit by a pitch, he scored on an RBI double down the right field line by Davis Mikell.  After Bahan was erased on a play at the plate, Dylan Bailey lined a single to left center to score two runs and give the Spartans a 3-0 lead.

After Lyndon closed the gap to 3-1 on an RBI single from Jason Doris in the top of the sixth, the Spartans broke the game open with a two-out rally in the home half.  Ryan Wadsworth, Bailey, and Nick Patierne each worked walks to load the bases before Deagan Poland was hit by a pitch to make the score 4-1.  With the bases still loaded, Benham lofted a fly ball to left field that was misplayed and allowed all three runs to score.  Bahan capped off the scoring with an RBI double to left center to extend the Spartan lead to 8-1, which proved to be the final after a scoreless seventh inning.

Sam Ognenoff (Brattleboro, Vt.) shouldered the loss on the mound for Lyndon with three earned runs on four hits over 4.0 innings. Jake Jourdain (Becket, Mass.) pitched a scoreless fifth, before Codi Smith (Hartford, Vt.) allowed five runs (one earned) with three walks in the sixth.  Devon Rollins (Winooski, Vt.) led the Hornets offensively with two hits and a run scored.  Doris went 1-for-1 with an RBI and a sacrifice.

Bailey went 1-for-2 with a walk, a run scored, and two RBI to lead the Spartans offensively. Steven Jurkiewicz pitched 6.0 strong innings to earn the win on the mound and allowed one earned run on five hits with three strikeouts.  Scott Michaels pitched a scoreless seventh inning to preserve the victory.

Game 2

Lyndon was one out away from being swept by Castleton, but a two-out, two-RBI double by Andre Eason Jr. (Waterbury, Conn.) in the top of the seventh sparked the Hornet comeback victory in the nightcap. 

Matt Jackson gave Castleton an early lead in the bottom of the first with a single up the middle, scoring Benham, who earlier made his way on base via hit-by-pitch.

Lyndon picked up a run in the top of the second as Chris April (Rollinsford, N.H.) singled down the right field line to plate Zak Johnson (East Hampton, Conn.).  Then in the third, Lyndon notched two more runs for the 3-2 lead.  With Eason Jr. on first and Ryan Cordeiro (Rollinsford, N.H.) on second, the Hornets completed a double steal and a throwing error on the play allowed each to take an extra base, sending Cordeiro in for the score.  Two batters later, Johnson singled through the left side to bring in Eason Jr.

Castleton responded with single runs in the next two frames to retake the lead.  Bahan started the third by reaching on a fielding error, and he later came around to score on a sacrifice fly from Jackson to tie the game.  Two walks and two hit-by-pitches gave the Spartans a 4-3 lead in the fourth after Davis Mikell took an inside pitch off his shoulder with the bases loaded.

That lead held until the top of the seventh when Lyndon found life after a single and a hit-by-pitch by Kevin Tufo (Colchester, Conn.) and Devon Rollins put runners on first and second.  Down to their final out, Eason Jr. gave the Hornets the lead with a double to left field.  The Spartans went down in order in the seventh as the Hornets held on for the 5-4 victory.

Andrew Whalen (Cumberland, R.I.) earned the win for Lyndon with 2.0 scoreless innings of relief.  Eason Jr. finished with two RBIs and one run while going 2-for-3 at the plate.  April and Johnson each added two hits.

Charles Stapleford saddled the loss on the mound for Castleton, allowing five runs (three earned) on eight hits with eight strikeouts over 7.0 innings.

The Hornets (18-16, 11-11 NAC) head to Daniel Webster College Friday for a nine inning contest at 3:30 p.m.

The Spartans (26-7, 17-3 NAC) will return to action on Saturday for a NAC doubleheader at Husson starting at 1 p.m.