The Middlebury softball team picked up a pair of non-league wins at Johnson State on Tuesday. The Panthers (25-9) earned a 17-0 win in game one, picking up a 3-2 victory in an eight-inning night cap. The Badgers end their season with an 8-19 mark. Middlebury returns to action on Friday at the NESCAC Tournament hosted by Tufts.

In the opener, the visiting Panthers wore down the hosts with consistent offensive strength earning two runs in the second, four in the third, six in the fourth and five in the fifth to end the game 17-0. 

Middlebury used the second inning to jump out to a 2-0 lead and never looked back. A sacrifice fly by Christina Bicks advanced Emily Kraytenberg to third base to put her in scoring position. A single on the next play from Sarah Boylan put the Panthers on the board 1-0. Boylan later scored on a single from Alex Scibetta for a 2-0 lead.

The top of the fourth saw the Panthers' most impactful inning after a Johnson error opened the door to a triple from Carlyn Vachow , plating Jessa Hoffman and Jackie Stern. Another error from the Badgers allowed Kraytenberg to make it to first, scoring Vachow. Bicks doubled, advancing Kraytenberg to third before Boylan went deep to make it a 12-0. Middlebury capped the scoring with five more runs in the fifth inning to end the game at 17-0.

Meagan Russ was charged with the loss hurling four and a third innings allowing 17 hits and walking two. Neve Stearns (3-1) earned the win for the Panthers tossing three innings and allowing just one hit while striking out four. Kat Maehr relieved Stearns, throwing for two innings and allowing one hit and striking out one batter.

Kraytenberg went 3-4 with four runs scored, while Boylan was 3-4 with two runs scored and collected six RBI. Her six runs driven in tied the school record held by four others. Scibetta went 3-4 with two runs scored, while Hoffman, Vachow, Bicks and Emma Katz each scored twice.

Russ and Samantha Pothier tallied the only hits for the Badgers.

In game two, both teams went scoreless until the fourth inning when Hoffman scored after Maehr grounded out giving Middlebury a 1-0 lead. The Panthers held the lead until the bottom of the sixth, when Tanya Randall singled scoring a run.

In extra innings, an RBI double by Vachow and a run-scoring single from Boylan gave Middlebury a 3-1 lead in the eighth. Johnson closed the gap in the home half of the inning scoring one run, but Middlebury held on for the 3-2 win.

Vachow and Kimber Sable each went 3-4 in the game to pace the Panthers. Alexa Lesenskyj allowed one run over 6.1 innings of work, while Stearns (4-1) earned the win in relief with 1.2 innings from the circle.

Game 1 Box – Game 2 Box