Baseball sweeps doubleheader against Castleton State, 19-1 and 12-1

The Patriots baseball team swept the doubleheader against Castleton State College (Vt.) by a combined 29 runs Sunday, 19-1 and 12-1. The Patriots got out to a big lead in the first inning and never looked back in game one, scoring seven runs on just five hits.

Junior outfielder Keenan Duke, right, slides back into first base after a pickoff attempt by Castleton State College (Vermont) during the Patriots 19-1 win in game one of the doubleheader on Sunday at Irwin Field. By Kyle G. Horst.

The first run of the game was scored on a bases loaded walked by Keenan Duke that scored Brock Lemire. Kendall Fox, Jared Hood and Jeremy Harding followed up by driving in the rest of the runs in the inning.

The Patriots had another big inning in the fourth as Lemire and Chad Daleiden scored on a double by Paige Hodges, who later scored on a sacrifice fly by Duke. Two more runs would score on a Harding double and Lemire capped off the inning with a two run home run, making it 16-0.

Brett Holland made a nice recovery from his last start too. Holland lost his first start against Concordia last weekend in the Easton Classic, but got back to his winning ways on Sunday. In five innings he failed to give up a run, striking out eight on just 58 pitches for his first win of the year.

Castleton did score one run, which came in the seventh and was unearned. Jordan Robare reached on an error by first baseman Kyle Bondy and scored on a double by Dan Conley.

Game two of the doubleheader was no different.

The Patriots scored three runs in the opening inning and another in the second.

Hood hit a two run homer in the first inning that scored Austin Newell and Harding scored later in the inning on a bases loaded walk by Daleiden.

The Patriots had another big inning in the fourth again. They scored eight runs on seven hits with Hood, Lemire, Towns, Newell and Harding all recording run RBI’s in the inning.

Patriots starter Blake Booher was dominate again in only his second start. Booher pitched five innings giving up only one hit, no runs and striking out four.  James Alvarado and Beau Ziegler pitched an inning apiece to close out the game.

“After the first game we changed our hitting approach a little…and the guys have responded well,” head coach James Vilade said.

“We are getting an idea of where our depth is…and it’s exciting to be able to move a guy from first to third and not lose anything defensively,” Vilade said.  “We have a luxury in our depth and we’re testing it early.”

The Patriots will play Castleton again Wednesday night at home, followed by a night game Friday and a doubleheader Saturday against The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.