ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – Bard College senior catcher Esteban Rivera became the first player in team history to hit for the cycle Sunday afternoon, as the Raptors dropped both ends of a doubleheader to Castleton University.
 
The Raptors (0-4) got off to a hot start with the bats. After a 1-2-3 top of the first, junior infielder Justin Fiume kicked things off with an RBI single. Rivera then followed with a two-run homer to give Bard a 3-0 lead.
 
Castleton (6-4) got one back in the second inning, as Evan Keegan went deep on a solo home run to get the Spartans on the board. However, the Raptors came back with five more runs in the second. Freshman outfielder Joe Barcia hit a sac fly, and was brought in on a two-run double by senior infielder Dillon Daine. Rivera then stepped up again, blasting a two-run triple to right-center to give Bard an 8-1 advantage.
 
The Spartans then exploded with a nine-run third inning to take the lead. Davis Mikell came to bat with the bases loaded and cleared them with a three-run double to get Castleton going. John Stewart picked him up from second with a two-run homer, then back-to-back triples plated two more runs for the visitors, giving them a 10-8 lead.
 
The Raptors got one back in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Barcia, but Castleton continued to pour on the offense in the fourth. Stewart picked up an RBI single, followed by Keegan's second home run of the game. Mikell then added a two-run single as the Spartans took a commanding 16-9 lead.
 
Bard chipped away at the deficit in the fourth, as Rivera drove in a run with a double. The Raptors added another pair of runs on an RBI groundout and sacrifice fly to get within four runs heading into the fifth.
 
Trailing 18-12 in the bottom of the fifth, Rivera came to the plate and hit a single, completing the cycle. Senior outfielder Frank Rybicki then brought him home with a two-run blast that rang off the left field foul pole to cut the Castleton lead to 18-14.
 
However, Bard wouldn't come any closer, as the Spartans added five more runs in the sixth and seventh innings. The Raptors couldn't answer the offensive output and fell 23-14 in Game 1.
 
In the first game, Rivera went 4-for-5 with five RBI, tying a team record for RBI in a game. Barcia, Daine and Rybicki all had two hits and two runs batted in on the day.
 
Castleton picked up right where they left off offensively in Game 2, plating two runs in the top of the first. Rivera then continued his career day with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning, but the Spartans were able to add three more runs in the second following a pair of Raptor errors to take a 5-1 lead.
 
Sophomore infielder Robert Arciola picked up an RBI groundout in the second to give the Raptors their second run, but Bard couldn't push any more runs across in the inning to draw closer.
 
Following an RBI single by Casleton's Daniel Petri in the third, the pitchers began to settle in. Neither team was able to get on the board again until the sixth inning, when a trio of RBI singles gave the Spartans a 9-2 advantage.
 
Freshman catcher Brandon Kaminsky earned his first career RBI with a groundout that scored Daine, but that would be all for Bard. Mikell, moving from the field to the mound in Game 2, threw a complete game for Castleton, surrendering three runs over seven innings and picking up the victory.
 
Up next for the Raptors is a three-game series with Bates College, with Game 1 of the series starting Saturday, March 14 at 12:00 p.m.