The Middlebury baseball team (2-2) opened its trip to Florida with a narrow 10-8 loss to Muhlenberg (9-3) on Saturday at Lake Myrtle Park. The Panthers continue play in the Sunshine State on Sunday, facing off against 13th-ranked Johns Hopkins at 9:30 a.m.
 
Alex Price started the game on the mound for the Panthers. With one out and runners on second and third, Price retired the final two batters to keep the game scoreless heading into the bottom of the first. Jack Stolper singled to right field, but the Panthers were unable to get on the board.
 
Muhlenberg grabbed a commanding early lead in the second stanza. Mules' outfielder Brendan Bussiere reached first on an error, and then advanced to second on another error. He scored the first run of the game when teammate Thomas Rodgers singled to center field. The next batter in the lineup, Connor Mikulski, sent a homer to left center to make the lead 3-0. With runners on second and third, Danny Monzo reached on a fielder's choice before advancing all the way to third after a throwing error by the Panthers. The Mules scored five runs on three hits and two errors in the second.
 
Middlebury got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning when Mitchell Schroeder homered to left field to make it 5-1. The tally was the fourth home run of the season for Schroeder.
 
Muhlenberg added one run in the fifth, two runs in the sixth, and one run in the seventh to extend its lead to 9-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh stanza. Middlebury exploded for four runs in the seventh to cut the lead to four. Nathan Samii led off with a double to left center and was brought home when Zip Malley connected on a double of his own. After a pitching change by the Mules, a Kyle McCauslan double drove in Alec Ritch and Malley for the second and third tallies of the stanza for the Panthers. With two outs, McCauslan scored on a throwing error to make the score 9-5.
 
With Freddy Mosier in at pitcher, the first three Muhlenberg batters were retired in the eighth inning, giving Middlebury a chance to build off the momentum of the seventh. With two outs and Middlebury down by four, Ritch stepped to the plate and knocked a home run to left field, scoring two. McCauslan followed up with his own home run to left center to bring the game within one (9-8).
 
George Goldstein replaced Mosier on the bump for the ninth inning. After notching two outs by the first two batters, Goldstein was faced with the bases loaded. A walk led to a Muhlenberg score and a 10-8 lead heading to the bottom of the ninth. Andrew Ashley led off by singling to right field. However, Muhlenberg was able to get the next three outs and end the game.
 
Middlebury was paced by McCauslan who scored two runs on two hits and contributed three RBI. Ritch added two runs and a pair of RBIs. The Mules were led by Aidan Legner who notched two runs on three hits.
 
Price (1-1) pitched five innings for the Panthers and took the loss. Freddy Mosier faced nine batters and gave up only one earned run, while Goldstein and Sawyer Duarte each pitched one inning. Quinn Rovner earned the win for the Mules.