Middlebury saw its season come to an end as they suffered a 12-10 loss to Southern Maine at an NCAA Regional in Harwich, Massachusetts. The Panthers end their season with a school-record 26 wins against 11 losses including their first two NCAA Tournament wins, ending the tournament with a 2-2 mark.
Southern Maine jumped on the board first with two runs in each of the first two innings on four hits. Robert Palladino left the game after two innings, with Christian Hansen coming in to pitch the third.
Middlebury's bats heated up in the bottom of the third, plating five runs on four hits. Alex Casnocha led off the inning with a homer to left, before Dom DiDomenico singled and Gabe Broughton reach on a throwing error where DiDomenico came around to score. Nick Lefeber then walked before Ryan Armstrong doubled to left, scoring Broughton. John Lanahan followed with a double to right center, plating both Armstrong and Broughton to give Middlebury a 5-4 lead.
The Panthers added a run in the fourth as Casnocha doubled and later scored on a ground out by DiDomenico. Middlebury plated two more in the fifth as Lanahan led off with a single to center and moved to third on a double to right by Joe Ramoin. Noah Walker grounded out to score Lanahan before Casnocha plated Ramoin with a single to left. Middlebury now held an 8-4 lead through five innings of play.
Southern Maine came roaring back in the sixth with four runs on five hits to tie the game at eight. The Huskies rallied once again in the eighth as they began the inning with a single and a walk before Hansen was lifted and replaced by Gary Roosa. The Huskies would score four in the inning on two hits and two hit batters to take a 12-8 lead in the top of the eighth.
Middlebury battled back in the bottom of the inning as Armstrong hit a two-out triple off the center-field fence. Lanahan followed with an RBI single up the middle, followed by another single to center by Ramoin. Noah Walker then delivered a third single to center to score Lanahan and make it a 12-10 game through eight innings.
The Panthers went quietly in the ninth, as they came away with the 12-10 loss. Lanahan had a 4-5 night with three RBI, while Casnocha went 3-5 with a pair driven in. Hansen moved to 3-1, suffering the loss.
Armstrong ended the tourney at .450 with two doubles, a triple, two homers and five RBI. Gabe Broughton hit .450, Casnocha was at .444, while DiDomenico hit .400.
