The Middlebury baseball team's offense erupted on Monday against Wisconsin-La Crosse in Auburndale, Florida, cruising to a 22-10 victory in seven innings. The Panthers (3-3) scored in six different innings and collected a season-best 19 hits. Middlebury's 22 runs were the most scored in a game since a 22-7 victory against Hamilton on April 26, 2008. The Panthers continue action in Florida on Wednesday, playing Bowdoin at 11:00 a.m. and Wisconsin-Eau Claire at 1:30 p.m.
Trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the first,
Sammy Smith cut the deficit in half with a two-run homer to left center, plating
Jack Stolper who reached on an error.
Andrew Ashley doubled down the left-field line and made the score 4-3 when he scampered home on a two-base hit to right center off the bat of
Kyle McCausland.
The Panthers knotted the contest at 4-4 in the home half of the second.
Nathan Samii started the inning with a walk and eventually scored on an Eagle fielding miscue. Middlebury grabbed the lead for good in the third when
Sawyer Duarte ripped a two-run single to center to drive in Samii and
John Collins who induced walks earlier in the frame.
Middlebury broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth, exploding for 11 runs on 11 hits to take a 17-4 lead. Collins smacked a two-run double down the left-field line, while Samii brought two more home with a single to center. Stolper lifted a three-run homer to right center, while
Alec Ritch followed with a round-tripper to center. McCausland provided the final two runs with a homer to left center, giving the Panthers a 17-4 advantage.
McCausland made the score 18-4 with an RBI double to left center in the sixth. The Eagles battled back with six runs in the top of the seventh, highlighted by a two-run single from Mac Born, to move to within eight (18-10).
Middlebury continued to score in bunches during its final turn at the plate, scoring four times during the seventh inning. McCausland drove in Stolper after reaching on an error and Smith scored on a walk by
David Byrne for a 20-10 cushion.
Chris Borter accounted for the final two tallies of the contest with a single to left center, as the game was called with the Panthers owning a 22-10 lead.
McCausland led the Panthers at the plate, going 4-6 with five RBI and three runs scored, while Ashley was 4-6 and scored five times. Duarte finished with three hits in five at-bats, while Collins and Borter each had a pair of hits. Stolper finished with three RBI, while Smith, Collins, Borter, Samii and Duarte all tacked on two.
Ritch logged his first start of the season on the mound for the Panthers and earned the win. The right-hander gave up four runs on five hits with five strikeouts over five innings.
Charlie Kutz and
George Goldstein each threw a scoreless inning of relief.
For Wisconsin-La Crosse, Born (2-3, 2R, 2 RBI) and Jack Olver (2-4, 3 RBI, 2R) both had multi-hit games at the plate. Eagle reliever Ben Byom (0-1) took the loss, allowing 11 runs (10 earned) in 2.1 innings of work.
