First of all I would like to issue an apology to the teams that traveled from Maine to Castleton for their respective playoff games. I am sorry that our Spartans completely annihilated your teams. We outscored you 79-17 this weekend, and I feel bad that you traveled all that way for nothing. Nonetheless, thank you for showing somewhat good sportsmanship.
The baseball team shrugged off a game one loss to fourth-seeded Colby-Sawyer on April 27 and came back to defeat both Thomas College and Husson University. With their backs against the wall in the double-elimination tournament, the Spartans had to win two consecutive games against Colby-Sawyer to win the NEAC East Division Championship.
After a 13-6 win against the Chargers in the first game, the Spartans fought tooth and nail for a 2-1 victory in the Championship game. Tyler Erickson won the tournament MVP award after pitching a complete-game three-hitter. Castleton now advances to play Penn St.- Berks, the West Division Champions, next weekend for the right to represent the NEAC in the NCAA National Tournament.
Unfortunately, the softball team had to travel to Husson for their playoffs. After defeating New England College 6-3 in their first game, the Spartans dropped consecutive games to Thomas and Husson. It was a great season from the ladies, and they can only get better next year with only three seniors graduating this year.
The women’s lacrosse team defeated New England College 19-10 on April 29 to the NAC East Title. Senior Angelica Mazzola was named the tournament MVP and Castleton advances to take on Morrisville State in the North Atlantic Conference title game, with a berth in the NCAA National Tournament at stake.
Finally the men’s lacrosse team completely dominated Thomas College in the NAC quarterfinals on April 27. Freshman Zach Davidson scored a game-high 11 goals in the contest with his fifth goal of the game setting a new single-season record for points in a season with 71, and his tenth goal setting the single-game goal-scoring mark set by Geoff Simons vs. SUNY-Maritime in 1999. The Spartans will play Husson in the NAC semifinal tonight.
This is the last column I will be writing here at Castleton. I would like to thank all of you who read my column and wish all Spartan athletes good luck in the future.
Be sure to check out Spartan Sports Weekly this Friday where we will recap all of the Spartan playoff games and give you previews of upcoming games.