The Middlebury College baseball team returned from Chandler, Arizona with an overall mark of 3-5, 1-2 in NESCAC play. Leading the Panthers at the plate were junior Donald McKillop (Poway, Calif.) (.382), first-year player Joseph Conway (Hummelstown, Pa.) (.367) and classmate Michael Morris (Scarsdale, N.Y.) (.310). Junior Nick Angstman (Williston, Vt.) went 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA over three appearances.

A two-run triple by rookie Thomas Driscoll (New Canaan, Conn.) and a two-run double from sophomore Zach Roeder (Keene, N.H.) helped spark the team in the season-opening 10-6 win over Southern Maine. Angstman went five innings to earn the win, while Conway was 3-5.

Middlebury followed with a doubleheader split with Carleton, dropping the first game 9-8 in eight innings before taking the nightcap, 11-7. A two-run triple from Morris and a two-run double from Conway led the offense in game one. Carleton won the game with a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth inning. Conway went 2-4 with two runs and two RBI, while sophomore Tyler Wark (Burlington, Vt.) was 3-4 in the game.

In game two, the Panthers opened up the game with eight runs in the sixth inning to take the 11-7 victory. Senior Erich Enns (Lansdale, Pa.) went 3-3 with a double, while sophomore Matt Wassel (Rumson, N.J.) had a pair of hits, including a triple.

The Panthers dropped a slugfest to M.I.T. 17-10, in a game that featured 27 hits. Morris went 3-4 with a double, while Conway was 2-4 with a double, two runs scored and three driven in.

Eastern Connecticut struck for six runs in the sixth and then six more in the eighth to earn a 14-3 win over the Panthers. McKillop and sophomore Will Baine (Rye, N.Y.) each had two hits in the loss, while junior Joey Liberator (Avon, Conn.) drove in a pair.

The trip ended with an annual three-game NESCAC West series with Williams. In game one, Williams plated a run in the top of the ninth to edge out the Panthers with a 7-6 win. A two-run double by Roeder in the first gave the Panthers a 3-2 lead early. An RBI single from Conway in the second and a run-scoring double from McKillop in the sixth gave Middlebury a 5-2 lead. The Ephs scored one in the seventh and three in the eighth to tie the game, before plating the game-winner in the ninth. First-year pitcher John Wiet (Morristown, N.J.) pitched well, allowing three earned runs over seven innings of work. Conway had three hits in the game, Wark was 2-3 with two runs scored, while Roeder drove in two with two hits.

Angstman was the story in game two, tossing a three-hit shutout over seven innings of work in a 4-0 win. An RBI groundout from Wassel, a run scoring double from McKillop and an RBI single from Conway made it a 3-0 game in the third inning. McKillop drove in Enns with a single in the fifth to wrap up the scoring. McKillop ended the game with a pair of hits for the Panthers.

The trip didn't end well, as Williams scored two or more runs in the final five innings en route to an 18-1 win. Five of the runs were unearned, as the Panthers committed six errors in the game. Five different players had hits for Middlebury, including a double from Enns.

BOX SCORES