Middlebury rallied for two come-from-behind wins, sweeping a doubleheader in the final home games of the season against visiting St. Joseph's (Vt.) on a cool and windy Monday. The Panthers scored in every inning during the opener for a 12-4 victory in six innings, and scored three times in the bottom of the seventh for a walk-off win in the nightcap, 9-8. The Panthers (18-8) have won seven-straight games and will return to action when they play in a twinbill on Wednesday at Plattsburgh State beginning at 3:30 p.m., while St. Joseph's (21-11) travels to New Hamphire Technical Institute on the same day.

In the first game, the Panthers took the lead with a run in bottom of the first inning.

St. Joseph's recorded a pair of runs in the top of the second. Maggie Miller and Krysta Konderwich both singled up the middle. Miller came around to score on a wild pitch, while Konderwich touched home plate on a ground out by Alana Todd.

Middlebury came right back in latter half of the inning to knot the game at 2-2 when Kat Maehr dropped a run-scoring double down the right-field line scoring Taylor Gardner, who opened the inning with a single to right.

The Saints retook the lead with a pair of runs in the third. A single up the middle from Konderwich scored Jacqueline Rossi and Allison Hinton for a 4-2 Saint lead.

On the first pitch of the bottom of the frame, Emma Hamilton cut the visitor lead to one (4-3) when she ripped a solo home run to left field for her first round-tripper of the spring and second of her career. The hosts tied the game later in the inning on a bloop single to left by Hye-Jin Kim, scoring Ally Doll who reached on a two-out walk.

In the fourth, Middlebury reclaimed the lead with a clutch two-out single to center field by Erin Giles, scoring Hamilton who reached base with a double to right center. Middlebury made it 6-4 in the bottom of the fifth taking advantage of a Saint miscue. Doll singled and moved to third on a throwing error, scoring on a ground out by Kim.

Middlebury blew the game open with six runs on six hits in the home half of the sixth, implementing the NCAA eight-run mercy rule. Hamilton and Siobhan O'Sullivan had RBI doubles, while Gardner added a two-run double down the left-field line. Maehr ended the game with a single up the middle, scoring Gardner for the final 12-4 score.

Hamilton led the Panthers at the plate in the opener, finishing 3-4 with three runs scored and a pair of runs driven in. Stern was 2-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, while O'Sullivan had two hits in four at-bats with a pair of RBI and a run. Gardner was 2-3 with two RBI and two runs, while Maehr went 2-4 with two RBI. Doll was officially 1-1 with a walk and three runs scored, as the Panthers pounded out 15 hits.

Irene Margiotta improved to 5-2 for Middlebury, allowing four runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and a walk in six innings.

Konderwich went 3-3 with two RBI and a run scored for St. Joseph's, while Hinton collected two hits in three at-bats with a run.

Miller took the loss in the circle for the Saints, allowing 12 runs, 11 earned, on 15 hits in 5.2 innings.

In the nightcap, the Saints took an early two-run lead in the first when Rossi walked and eventually scored on a fielder's choice and overthrow at third that went into the dugout. Miller smacked a run-scoring base hit up the middle, allowing Hinton to score after a single.

The Panthers tied the contest with a two-run single from Gardner down the right-field line in the bottom of the inning. St. Joseph's regained a two-run lead in the top of the second via a run-scoring single to left center by Emily Johnson.

With her single during the bottom of the second inning, Stern recorded her 100th career hit in a Panther uniform.

Middlebury sliced into the lead with a single run in the bottom of the third when Giles roped a double to deep left center. Sarah Freyre produced a seeing-eye single through the right side, plating Ali Della Volpe, who was inserted as a pinch runner for Giles.

St. Joseph's tacked on a single tally in the fourth for a 5-3 advantage. Middlebury answered with three run on three hits in the home half. Kati Daczkowski had a sacrifice fly to left, Hamilton singled through the right side for the second run, while Stern scored as part of a double steal for the third tally of the inning, giving the hosts a 6-5 lead.

The score remained that way until the sixth when the Saints three times on an RBI triple from Rossi and a two-run double by Miller for an 8-6 lead.

 In the bottom of the seventh, the Panthers mounted a comeback. Freyre had a sacrifice fly to right scoring Hamilton who had a single to start the inning, while Stern drove in the tying run on a fielder's choice. Fighting darkness, the Panthers loaded the bases and with two outs and a full count on Daczkowski, she lifted a single to left center, scoring the winning run from third.

Hamilton continued her torrid hitting at the plate, going 3-4 with two runs and an RBI. She has now hit safely in 16-straight games in which she has played for the Panthers. Daczkowski was 2-3 with two RBI and a run scored, while Stern was 2-5 with an RBI and a run. Gardner also had a multi-hit game, going 2-4 with two runs batted in.       

Lane Dikeman went the first three innings, allowing four runs, just one earned, on five hits with three strikeouts. Neve Stearns logged 2.2 innings, giving up four runs on six hits and a trio of punchouts, while Allison Quigley (8-1) earned the win, going to the final 1.1 innings with a pair of strikeouts.

Rossi paced the Saints, going 3-4 with three runs scored in game two, while three others had multi-hit games. Miller took the loss, allowing nine runs, eight earned, on 14 hits with a pair of strikeouts.