The Middlebury baseball team split two games against Oberlin in Arizona to open its annual spring break trip. The Panthers (2-2) took game one by an 8-4 score as the teams played a pair of seven-inning games, but the Yeomen (7-11) took the nightcap, 5-3. Middlebury returns to the diamond Sunday for a game against Carthage at 3:00 p.m. 

Middlebury struck for three runs in the bottom of the first inning in the opener. Jake Turtel singled through the right side and Max Araya was hit by a pitch. Jason Lock followed with a two-run double down the left-field line scoring both Turtel and Araya.

In the bottom of the second, the Panthers tacked on a fourth run when Alex Deutsch led off the frame with a double down the right field line. After a strikeout, Sam Graf drove home Deutsch with an RBI single to right.

The Panthers maintained that 4-0 advantage until the top of the fifth when the Yeomen cut the lead in half with two runs on three hits. Justin Cruz and Ian Dinsmore both had run-scoring doubles in the inning for Oberlin off Middlebury starting pitcher Colby Morris. The Panther right hander worked out of the inning with a pair of fly-ball outs and stopped the rally.

Middlebury blew the game open with four runs on three hits and were aided by two Oberlin errors in the home half of the fifth. Johnny Read led off with a double to left center, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Graf and scored on a throwing error. Graf was sacrificed to second and scored on a double to the right-center field gap by Araya.

Loading the bases against starting pitcher Sean Kiley after Lock walked and John Luke reached on a fielding miscue, Joe MacDonald brought Araya home on a single to left. With the bases still full of Panthers, Brendan Donohue walked plating Lock. Oberlin brought on reliever Nicholas Morgan, who worked out of the jam with a lineout double play.

Trailing 8-2, the Yeomen scored twice in the sixth on an RBI walk from Cruz and a fielder's choice groundout. Middlebury lefthander Dylan Takamori came on in relief of Jake Stalcup who started the inning, and recorded the final two outs leaving two Yeomen on base. Takamori worked around a one-out walk in the seventh for his first save of the season.  

MacDonald went 2-3 at the plate for the Panthers with a pair of RBI, while Lock was 1-2 with two RBI and two runs scored. Morris earned his first collegiate win for Middlebury, allowing just two runs on eight hits with three walks and a strikeout in five innings. Stalcup recorded an out, while Takamori went the final 1.2 innings.

Kiley took the loss going 4.1 innings allowing eight runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. Morgan went 1.2 innings for the Yeomen, giving up just one base hit.

In their second game, the Yeomen jumped on the scoreboard with three runs on three hits in the bottom of the second inning, highlighted by a three-run double by Cruz. The Panthers responded with a run in the top of the third. Turtel reached on a throwing error, moved to second on Araya's single up the middle and scored on a Lock single.

Ahead by a 3-1 score, Oberlin tallied a run in the bottom of the inning on a run-scoring double down the left-field line by Issac Goldman. Middlebury pulled to within a one via a pair of runs in the fifth. Read started the rally with a bunt single and sprinted to second on a single off the bat of Turtel. Read raced home on a single to center by Araya, while Turtel scored on a sacrifice fly by MacDonald. Oberlin reliever Jack Reiss squirmed out of the jam getting a popup to end the threat with two Panthers on the base paths.

Oberlin pushed the advantage back to a pair on an RBI single from Jake Reynolds in the bottom of the fifth. The Panthers mounted a comeback attempt in the top of the seventh with two runners on and one out, but Yeomen reliever Noah Gear got out of it with a fly out and pop up to end the game.

Araya went 2-2 in the second game with two walks for the Panthers, while Turtel was 2-4 and a pair of runs scored.

John Bunting went the distance for his first complete as a Panther, giving up five runs, four earned, on seven hits with six strikeouts and three walks.

Quin Butler went 2-3 with a run scored and Reynolds was 2-2 with an RBI and run scored, while Cruz drove home three for the Yeomen.

Charlie Goetz picked up the win for Oberlin, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits in 4.1 innings of work, while Reiss allowed the unearned tally on two hits in 1.2 innings. Gear recorded the final three outs for his second save of the season.