Middlebury fell to Tufts 4-3 in eight innings during the opening game of a doubleheader, but the Panthers came back to earn the split with a 9-6 nine-inning triumph in the nightcap Saturday in Massachusetts. The Panthers (12-6) return to action with their home opener on Sunday against Plymouth State with first pitch from Forbes Field slated for 3:30 p.m.

In the opener, Tufts (14-4) grabbed a 2-0 advantage in the second on a two-run single from Justin Mills. Middlebury cut the lead to 2-1 in the third when Gray Goolsby was hit by a pitch to start the frame and scored on a double by Andrew Hennings. Middlebury later took a 3-2 lead in the top of the sixth. Brooks Carroll induced a one-out walk and Jake Dianno singled. Both stole bases to get into scoring position, before Sam Graf delivered a two-run single though the right side.

The Jumbos tied the game in the bottom of the sixth as JP Knight led off with a home run down the right-field line.

Tufts threatened in the bottom of the seventh as Ryan Day singled and moved to third on a pair of Panther errors. Middlebury chose to load the bases with two intentional walks, but Alex Price got out of the jam with a strikeout and a line-drive double play, sending the game to the eighth.

In the bottom of the eighth, Will Burgess walked with one out and went to third on a double by Will Shackelford. Burgess raced home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Mills for the 4-3 win.

Hennings and Dianno had two hits apiece for Middlebury in the opener, while Justin Han stole three bases to move him into fourth place on the career list with 37. Carroll also swiped a base to move him into third place in the program's laurels with 38. Colby Morris went the first six innings for the Panthers, allowing three runs on six hits with four strikeouts. Price took the loss, giving up two hits and a run over 1.2 innings of work.

Mills finished with two hits and two RBI at the plate, while Shackelford had a double and Knight homered. Aidan Tucker, who came on in relief in the seventh, allowed just one walk over two innings and struck out three, improving to 3-0.

In the nightcap, Middlebury scored early on a sacrifice fly from Dianno and an RBI single from Hayden Smith in the first. Phil Bernstein had a run-scoring base hit one inning later, while a homer by Henry Strmecki to left center in the third for a 4-0 lead.

Tufts cut the margin in half on a two-run single by Elias Varinos in the fourth. Middlebury responded with four more in the fifth, including an RBI base knock by Smith and a three-run homer to left center by Ryan Hanrahan for an 8-2 lead.

A lead-off home run by Casey Santos-Ocampo in the bottom of the inning was part of a two-run Jumbo fifth that got the hosts to within 8-4.

The Jumbos recorded single tallies in the sixth and seventh to cut the Panther lead to 8-6, but the visitors added an insurance run in the ninth with a walk to Strmecki, a double steal and a sac fly by Smith.

Tufts brought the potential game-tying run to the plate in the ninth, but Bobby Sullivan got a strikeout to end the game.

Smith finished 2-4 with three RBI and a run, while Strmecki was 2-3 with four runs and an RBI. Alan Guild also had two hits for the Panthers. Andrew Martinson got the win in relief, going 1.1 innings, while Sullivan earned his first career save.

Santos-Ocampo (two runs), Kyle Cortese, Frickman (two runs) and Varinos (two RBI) each had two hits for the Jumobs. Brent Greeley took the loss, going seven innings while allowing six runs on nine hits with three strikeouts.