CASTLETON, Vt. – Castleton State College swept a non-conference baseball doubleheader from Norwich University Thursday afternoon, downing the Cadets 9-3 in the opener and 14-2 in the nightcap.

In the opener Castleton (11-15) plated four runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back, cruising to the 9-3 win. Matt Greene improved to 3-2 on the season, allowing three earned runs on five hits and six walks while striking out five.

Ryan Zielinski and Jack Lancelin each had two hits at the top of the Spartan order, and Aaron Zrenda drove in a pair of runs to pace the offense.

Senior OF Travis Dyke and junior INF Joe Sleeman each had RBI singles to pace Norwich (0-17).

In the bottom of the first Zielinski singled to lead things off, and Lancelin doubled to put runners at second and third. With one out in the inning, Zak Mayo drew a six-pitch walk to load the bases. A wild pitch moved everyone up, and Zrenda ripped a two-run double to left-centerfield to put Castleton up 3-0. Two batters later, Peter Wagner laced an RBI single to ight field to push the lead to 4-0.

The Spartans tacked on another run in the third inning before Norwich grabbed three in the fourth.

With the bases loaded and one out, Dyke singled to right field to make it 5-1, before junior OF David Maxfield made it 5-2 with a run-scoring fielder's choice. Sleeman added a clutch, two-out single to right-center to cut the lead to 5-3 before Greene was able to get out of the inning.

Castleton grabbed another single run in the fifth, and three more in the sixth to put the game away. David Brandt provided a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and Zielinski slapped a one-out single through the left side that scored Wagner and chased Norwich starter Ben Kleiner (0-2).

The sophomore right-hander pitched five-and-one-third innings, allowing nine runs on eight hits and two walks with a pair of strikeouts.

Sophomore OF Dustin Shimkus saw his consecutive game hitting streak come to an end at 12 as he went 0-2 with a walk in game one. 

With the nightcap knotted at one-all in the bottom of the second inning, Castleton sent 12 men to the plate in a seven-run frame that blew the game wide open. Cameron Curler had a pair of singles, and drove in three runs in the inning and Matt McNamee had two singles, an RBI and a run scored during the rally.

Lancelin finished with two hits and three RBI, and Allen White went 2-for-2 with an RBI off the bench. Brandt finished the night cap with two hits and four runs scored.

Maxfield and freshman INF Devin Cilley both had a single and a run scored in the second game for the Cadets, while freshman OF Charles Schaub added an RBI single. Sleeman and freshman INF Kyle Fitzsimmons both registered singles as well.

Tim Smith (1-0) pitched six solid innings for the Spartans, allowing two runs (none earned) on five hits and a walk while striking out nine to earn his first career win.

Norwich will look to get its first win of the season Saturday when the Cadets host conference-foe Johnson & Wales with first game action slated to begin at 1 p.m.