One word describes the play of Castleton’s women’s softball team-consistency.With strong pitching, defense and batting, the women’s softball team has been on a tear in the North Atlantic Conference amassing a 9-3 conference record and 13-7 overall. Remember, that this was the same team that in pre-season was picked to finish in the middle of the pack. Currently, they are second in the conference, behind powerhouse Elms College.

In recent play, the women sluggers pounded the Becker Hawks 16-1 and then capped off the double-header with a 13-5 win in Worchester, Mass. on April 8. Anita Dixon led the way in the nightcap, hitting two of her team-high four homeruns with 4 RBI. The wins gave them a 10-2 overall record and 8-0 in the NAC. The next day, the team traveled to conference leader Elms College and got blanked by the Blazers 6-0. In the second game of the double-header, the Spartans made it much closer losing 2-1.

“We were down two starters in that game against Elms. If we see them again, they are not going to see the same team,” senior catcher Andrea Wright said.

With the team back in conference play on April 14, they split a double-header with Mount Ida College in two very close games. In the first game, the Spartans squeaked by with a 5-4 win. Angie Carpenter pitched a complete game and struck out five earning the win. The Mustangs returned the favor though, winning the nightcap 6-4. With Castleton trailing 2-3 in the bottom of the sixth, the Spartans answered with two runs to take the lead. The Mustangs answered right back scoring three in the top of the seventh, stealing the win. With the split, the Spartans are 13-7 overall and 9-3 in the NAC.

With 20 games down and 10 to go, the Spartans have wracked up some outstanding statistics in all categories. Their hitting outmatches their opponents in almost every category. They have 56 more runs, 16 more hits, 30 more RBI, and double the walks.

The pitching staff is lead by Angie Carpenter and Megan Robitaille. Carpenter has 6-2 record (3.75 ERA) and has pitched a team high 48 innings. In those, she has almost as many strikeouts (42) as runners allowed on base (48).

“Our pitching is amazing. It is the best I’ve seen in four years. Usually arms start getting tired this time of year, but they say they are fine,” Wright said.

Spartans head coach Meghan Brown, who couldn’t be reached for comment, has to love the way her team is playing. With a third of their season left and playoffs fast approaching, the Spartans will need to continue with their consistency to win the NAC championships.

“We need to realize we have the potential to be the best, but we need to match that with our intensity. It is so easy for us to win it all, but so easy for us to lose it all too,” Wright said.