In a season that started down south, the Castleton baseball team has consistently struggled this season sitting with a 2-17 record at just about the halfway point of the season. 

However, only four of those games have been Little East Conference match ups. 

As the Spartans head into the second half of the season they found themselves in a much different position as they were just a season ago. Last season at this point, Castleton sat at 7-10 but with a much different schedule of match ups. 

“We are making progress and have had and will continue to play a very demanding schedule. It has been challenging for sure this season as we have been so close to winning in so many games. We have a great group of young men, and we continue to believe in each other,” said head coach Ted Shipley. “Our goals and plans are for us to continue to improve daily so that we are playing our best individually and collectively when we enter the conference tournament.” 

Four of the Spartans losses this season have been decided by one run and if those games had gone the other way, they would be sitting eerily similar to last season. 

“Moving forward, the team needs to put everything together in every game. Some games our pitching and defense are firing but our hitters are struggling, while other games our hitters and pitchers are playing well but we are struggling on defense,” said junior Dylan Hedler. “I believe the bond the team has is so much better than years past. We are becoming one unit and supporting each other more and more each game and becoming a family.” 

Looking ahead, the team has roughly two weeks before they begin to get into the bulk of the conference play as the last 11 games of the season are all LEC games. 

“Before getting into conference play, we just need to get better defensively as a team and do the small things right. Not help the other team and make it easy for them. Also, build our confidence as a team,” said junior Brandon Ramirez. 

In the latest game, the Spartans faced off against University Massachusetts Boston in a LEC double header March 30 in which they fell 10-8 in the first game and 12-0 in the second game to move to 2-17. 

Over the course of the season, although the win column has not been filled up, individual players have hit milestones such as Hunter Perkins collecting his 100th career hit.