The Middlebury baseball team edged Bowdoin 11-8, before falling 9-8 to Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Wednesday. The Panthers continue play on Friday, taking on Trinity at 5:00 p.m.
In the first game of the day, Bowdoin jumped out to a 1-0 edge in its first at-bat. Ben McKenzie walked before touching home on a sacrifice fly by Luke Chessie for the early lead. Middlebury responded in its half of the inning.
Jack Stolper,
Andrew Ashley and
Mitchell Schroeder each singled to load the bases, before
John Collins plated Stolper to make it 1-1.
Kevin Murray hit a homer in the second and McKenzie scampered home on a wild pitch in the third to give the Polar Bears a 3-1 advantage. Later in the frame, Ritch doubled, stole third and touched home on a single by Ashley to cut the deficit to one. Collins led off the fourth with a home run to knot the contest 3-3.
Bowdoin exploded with four runs in the top of the fifth. With two outs and the bases loaded, McKenzie, Stephen Simoes and Bobby Pearl touched home on an error, before a single by Gavin Cann drove in CJ Brito-Trinidad for the 7-3 advantage.
The Panthers responded with four runs of their own in the bottom of the sixth.
Zip Malley,
Nathan Samii and
Sawyer Duarte singled to load the bases. Malley touched home when Stolper walked, before a
Kyle McCausland single plated Samii and Duarte. Stolper later scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 7-7.
In its next at-bat, Middlebury gained some breathing room. With one out and the bases loaded,
Beau Root scored on a fielder's choice, before a Stolper homer drove in Duarte and Malley for the 11-7 advantage.
The Polar Bears tallied a run in the eighth, but it wasn't enough as the Panthers hung on for the 11-8 victory.
Cole Crider earned his first win of the season on the mound for Middlebury, allowing just one hit during an inning of work while striking out one. Jack Mullen suffered the loss for Bowdoin.
Stolper was a perfect 3-3 at the plate with a home run and four RBI. Ritch had one run on two hits with a pair of doubles, while Duarte scored twice and had three hits with an RBI. Collins finished with one run on three hits to go along with two RBI.
Murray had two runs on a pair of hits with a homer and an RBI. McKenzie touched home three times with two hits and an RBI, while Brito-Trinidad had one run on two hits, while plating three for Bowdoin.
In the nightcap, Middlebury jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one inning. A single to left field by Ritch brought home Root, before
Lucas Flemming later stole home.
The Blugolds got on the scoreboard in the second when Walter Johns walked, stole second, and later touched home plate on a single by Carson Winde to make it 2-1.In their half of the inning, Malley plated
David Byrne to increase the Panther lead to 3-1.
UW-Eau Claire added a run in the third, before exploding with four runs in the fourth. With the bases loaded in the fourth, a single by Otto Treiche followed by an error allowed Dustan Green and Scott Richar to score. On the next play, Treiche and Nate Witte crossed home plate when Andrew Murph singled to center field for the 6-3 advantage.
The teams traded runs in the fifth inning, before the Blugolds added a pair in the top of the sixth to take a 9-4 lead. In the bottom of the eighth, the Panthers cut the deficit to four (9-5) when Flemming walked to bring home Samii.
Middlebury made it a game in the bottom of the ninth.
Lucas Cai walked before scoring on a homer by
Isaac Rosario. Samii singled and
Baker Angstman walked before both advancing a base on a sacrifice bunt by Byrne. Samii later scored to bring the team within one (9-8), but UW-Eau Claire recorded the final out to edge the Panthers.
Kunal Handa suffered the loss for Middlebury, allowing four runs on two hits over an inning, while Nico Smith earned the win for the Blugolds, allowing four runs on six hits.
Root had two runs on three hits with one RBI, while Rosario and Ritch each recorded a pair of RBI for the Panthers. Treichel had three runs on two hits and two RBI for UW-Eau Claire, while Carson Windeshausen had three RBI.
