A four-run fifth inning propelled Middlebury to a 9-4 win over in-state foe St. Michael's on Tuesday at Forbes Field. The game was the 150th meeting of the two Vermont rivals dating back to a 2-0 Panther win in 1910. Both teams return to action on Wednesday as Middlebury (10-14) hosts Plattsburgh State, while the Purple Knights (11-16) host Saint Rose.
Trailing 2-1 in the fourth, St. Michael's Tim McDonnell earned a lead-off walk from Panther starter Scooter Scott. A two-out walk issued to Matt Beaulieu brought Ryan Reather to the plate. Reather laced a double to left center for two RBI and a 3-2 lead.
Middlebury responded in the fifth, scoring four runs off starting pitcher Mike Robert for a 6-4 advantage. Tim Dillon started the inning with a lead-off single, Danny Seymour followed and was hit by a Robert pitch. A two-out walk to Erich Enns loaded the bases for Peter Bourdon, who blasted a bases-clearing double to left center. Matt Wassel followed suit with an RBI double to right center, plating Bourdon for the 6-4 advantage.
Panther reliever Dirk vanDuym replaced Scott in the fifth, allowed a run in the sixth on a two-out RBI single by Beaulieu cutting the Middlebury lead to 6-4. vanDuym got some timely hitting from the Panther bats as Middlebury tacked on two runs in the seventh and another in the eighth for a 9-4 lead.
A pair of two-out RBI singles by Wassel and Peter Baumann highlighted the seventh as an Enns two-out RBI single in the eighth capped the scoring. Panther hurler Nick Angstman finished off St. Michael's in the ninth, sealing the win.
Donald McKillop went 3-4 with a double and three runs scored, Wassel went 2-4 with a double and two RBI, and Bourdon added three RBI with his double to lead Middlebury. Beaulieu went 3-4 with and RBI, Chad Estey added a pair of hits with an RBI and Reather's two RBI double paced Saint Michael's.
vanDuym (2-0) earned the win for the Panthers, pitching four innings in relief, allowing just one earned run and scattering three hits. Robert (1-4) took the loss, going 6.2 innings, giving up eight runs, six earned for the Purple Knights.
