Johnson St. dropped two North Atlantic Conference (NAC) games against Castleton on Wednesday afternoon at Minaert Field. With the loss, the Badgers move to 6-18 on the year and 4-6 in the NAC.
Game 1:
The visitors took game one 5-1 behind a two-hit, two-RBI performance from Jessica Babcock.
Babcock went 4-for-6 on the day with a double, a triple, three runs and three RBIs. Kayla Wood turned in her seventh complete game of the season in game one, allowing just four hits and one run while striking out eight on the way to her seventh win this year.
Babcock was a perfect 2-for-2 at the plate in game one, walking twice driving in a pair of runs while scoring one of her own. Sami Carlo was 2-for-3 out of the No. 9 spot in the batting order, scoring twice in the win.
Anna Bingham was 2-for-3 for the Badgers in the first game, scoring the only run of the game for Johnson St. Andrea Williams took the loss, going the distance and allowing five runs, all earned, on seven hits and seven walks.
Castleton struck first in the contest, as Chelsea Grady drew a one-out, bases-loaded walk to push the first run across in the third inning. Katie Gagne followed her with a two-run single, scoring Babcock and Brittany Brayman to give the Spartans a 3-0 lead.
Castleton got on the board again in the sixth inning, when Babcock ripped a two-run double to score Ruby Bushey and Carlo and push the Spartans' lead to 5-0.
A base hit by Johnson's Alex Bean in the bottom of the sixth inning broke up a string of 15 consecutive batters retired by Wood, however Bean was stranded on base to preserve the shutout for Castleton.
Bingham led off the seventh inning with a double for the Badgers, and came around to score when Katilynn Woodward recorded an RBI double to end the shutout bid by Wood and make it a 5-1 game in favor of the Spartans. Wood induced a pair of pop-outs to end the game, giving Castleton the victory.
Game 2:
Following its first win, Castleton took game two by a score of 11-2 behind a strong performance from Taylor Paquette. Timi Carone and Tori Swaine each tallied three hits in game two, while Babcock, Brayman, Grady and Gagne chipped in with two hits apiece.
Castleton exploded for five runs in the first inning, as Carone led off the game with a single before scoring on an RBI triple by Babcock. Brayman followed Babcock with a base hit to make it 2-0 before an out was recorded. After Castleton loaded the bases with two outs, a Ruby Bushey base hit scored three runs to make it 5-0 in favor of the visitors.
Johnson St. would get two runs back in the bottom of the first, as Bingham tallied an RBI double to score Bean with nobody out to cut the lead to 5-1. Shannon Grier then notched an RBI single to make it 5-2 before Paquette worked out of the jam.
The two pitchers then traded zeros until the top of the fourth inning, when Castleton pushed across another run to extend its lead. After Babcock reached on a fielder's choice, she stole second to move into scoring position for Brayman. Brayman then reached on an error, which allowed Babcock to come around to score and make it a 6-2 ballgame.
The Spartans tacked another run in the sixth inning, when Swaine doubled home Grady to make it 7-2, before pushing across four more runs in the top of the seventh to give the game its final score.
Carlo and Carone led off the seventh with base hits before a Babcock sacrifice bunt moved them both into scoring position. Brayman then added to her NAC-leading RBI total with a two-run single before coming around to score herself on a base hit by Grady. Swaine capped off the scoring in the game with an RBI single, scoring Grady to give Castleton the 11-2 lead.