PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Junior Bryan McGrath (Franklin, Mass.) ripped a two-run double off the third base bag to ignite a five-run eighth inning rally as Plymouth State University salvaged a split with Castleton University in a baseball double header at Parish Field on Tuesday.
 
In a back-and-forth game two, Castleton's two-run homer gave the visitors an 8-7 lead in the top of the eighth, but McGrath's double put the Panthers back in front and PSU tacked on three more runs in the inning before holding off a Spartans' rally in the ninth to take game two, 12-11.
 
Earlier in the day Castleton snapped an 11-11 tie with three runs in the top of the ninth to take the opener, a Little East Conference (LEC) game, 14-11. The two teams will play another double header in Vermont in two weeks where only the first game will count in the conference standings.
 
After averaging 2.53 runs per game through the first five games of the year, Plymouth State's offense has come alive of late, scoring 10+ runs in each of the last five contests.
 
With the split the Panthers move to 5-5 (1-4 LEC), while Castleton ends the day at 6-6 (4-1 LEC).
 
The Basics:

• Game 1: Plymouth State 11, Castleton 14
• Game 2: Plymouth State 12, Castleton 11
  • Plymouth State (5-5, 1-4 LEC)
  • Castleton (6-6, 4-1 LEC)

 
How it Happened (Game One):

• Castleton used four singles, three walks and a hit batter to plate five runs in the top of the second.
• PSU got two back in the bottom of the inning when graduate student Andrew Salta (Laconia, N.H.) drove in senior Andrew Wasilefsky (Willington, Conn.) with a base hit and graduate student Gavin Cook (Littleton, N.H.) scampered home on a ground out to make it 5-2.
• The Spartans pushed two runs across in the third, but Wasilefsky crushed a two-run home run well over the high fence in right field in the bottom of the frame to make it 7-4.
• Castleton made it 8-4 in the fourth, but the Panthers exploded for seven runs in the fifth to pull in front. Sophomore Richie Marique (Derry, N.H.) rocked a two-run double, senior Joe Routhier (Nashua, N.H.) ripped an RBI single and junior Drew Metzdorf (Burlington, Mass.) socked a three-run, no-doubt blast to deep left field to cap the scoring.
• The lead wouldn't last for long, however, as the Spartans rallied for three runs in the next inning to square the game at 11-11 and the score would remain the same into the ninth inning.
• Castleton pulled ahead in the ninth on an RBI double and a two-run triple and PSU was unable to rally in the bottom of the inning.

By the Numbers (Game One):

• Metzdorf and graduate student James Salta (Laconia, N.H.) each had three-hit games for the Panthers. Metzdorf finished 3-for-5 with three RBI and run scored, while J. Salta went 3-for-3 with a run scored.
• Marique and Wasilefsky both drove in two runs, with Wasilefsky adding a pair of stolen bases. A. Salta swiped three bags in the loss.
• Marique was tagged with the loss (0-3) after throwing 2.2 innings in relief.

 
How it Happened (Game Two):

• Castleton went ahead with a single run in the second, but the Panthers came back in the bottom of the inning as Routhier and A. Salta recorded RBI singles for a 2-1 lead.
• The Spartans used three straight doubles to leapfrog in front, 4-2, in the third.
• Freshman Luke Sokolski (Waterford, Conn.) led off the bottom of the inning with a triple and later came home on J. Salta's double to the gap to cut the deficit to 4-3.
• Castleton turned a two-out walk into a run the next half-inning after a stolen base and clutch single made it 5-3.
• Wasilefsky's two-out single in the fifth scored sophomore Griffin Crane (Lancaster, N.H.), but the Spartans answered right back with a single run in the sixth.
• A wild pitch and Crane's RBI single pulled the Panthers even, 6-6, in the bottom of the inning and PSU went ahead in the seventh when Sokolski was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
• The lead was short-lived as Castleton rocked a two-run homer off the scoreboard in left center to see-saw back in front, 8-7.
• The Panthers rallied with four runs in the eighth. McGrath put the Panthers ahead with a two-run double off the third base bag and A. Salta's sacrifice fly made it 10-8. Junior Brody Fillion (Littleton, N.H.) added a pinch-hit RBI single and Metzdorf added a sac fly for a 12-8 lead.
• Castleton didn't go quietly in the ninth as the Spartans opened the inning with a triple, RBI double and run-scoring single to bring the tying run to the plate with nobody out. After a key strikeout, sophomore Ryan Hurlbert (Middletown, Conn.) came on in relief and got a fielder's choice for the second out. The next batter doubled to make it a one-run game and a walk put the go-ahead run on base, but Hurlbert escaped with a grounder to second to pick up his first save.

By the Numbers (Game Two):

• Six different Panthers had two-hit games, while Wasilefsky and A. Salta both reached base four times (two singles, two walks).
• Freshman Sam Dyckman (Pembroke, Mass.) picked up his first career win, while Hurlbert recorded the Panthers' first save of the season.
• Graduate student Mark Levesque (Milton, N.H.) got the start and struck out five over four innings.

 
Up Next:

• Plymouth State welcomes the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth to Parish Field for a pair of LEC games on Thursday (Apr. 15), though the Corsairs will be considered the home team.