Middlebury won both games against visiting Skidmore by scores of 9-3 and 8-0, the latter was shortened to five innings due to score differential. The Panthers improved their record to 9-5 with the twinbill victories, while the Thoroughbreds fall to 5-11 on the season. Middlebury opens NESCAC West action when they travel to Hamilton on Friday for the first game of a three-game series. Skidmore will host Castleton State for a doubleheader on Wednesday.
In the first game, the Panthers fell behind 3-2 until a bases-loaded passed-ball allowed Allison Bard to score the tying run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Middlebury tacked on two more in the frame, building a 5-3 lead. In the sixth, the Panthers added four insurance runs for a commanding 9-3 advantage. In the top of the seventh inning, Skidmore had a runner on second with no outs, but could not muster any runs, and fell 9-3. Bard led the Panther offense going 3-for-4, including a triple, while starting pitcher Brittney Burke went 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBI. The loss overshadowed a 4-for-4 day at the plate and one RBI for Skidmore's Sasha Diamond-Lenow. Burke earned the victory, improving to 6-1 on the season, while Sarah Stehouwer was credited for the loss for Skidmore.
In the second game, the Panthers expanded a first inning 1-0 lead scoring four runs in the second. Middlebury belted out five hits in the inning including doubles by Susan Miranowski and Jennifer Williams. The Panthers scored again in the third, building a 6-0 advantage, as Miranowski doubled again and later scored on a throwing error. The game ended in the fifth when a bases-loaded shot by Middlebury's Kristin Maletsky was mishandled in the infield and two runners scored. The eight-run Panther lead ended the game by NCAA rules of play. Miranowski went 2-for-3 with the two doubles, while five other Panthers collected hits in the victory. Williams raised her pitching record to 3-4 with the win as she held Skidmore to just three hits in five innings of work. Stehouwer took the loss for the Thoroughbreds.
