The Middlebury baseball team concluded its spring trip by splitting a pair of games on Saturday in Florida. The Panthers were edged by Trinity 11-8 to start the day, followed by a 12-7 victory over St. Olaf in game two. Middlebury (5-6) returns to the field on Tuesday with a contest in New York against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at 4:00 p.m.

In the first game against the Bantams (6-4), the Panthers exploded for six runs in the bottom of the second inning. Back-to-back singles from Sawyer Duarte and Kyle McCausland put Middlebury up 2-0, while Andrew Ashley followed with a two-run triple. Alec Ritch smacked an RBI double, while Mitchell Schroeder gave the Panthers a 6-0 advantage on a groundout.

The score remained that way until the fifth when Trinity's James Stefanowicz grounded out to drive in Jake Miller who started the inning with a single. Middlebury answered in its half of the inning, as John Collins doubled to bring home Schroeder who reached on a fielder's choice for a 7-1 advantage.

The Panther lead increased to 8-1 in the sixth, as Nathan Samii ripped a leadoff double and scored on a single by McCausland. The Bantams cut the deficit to three (8-5) with four runs in the seventh and added six more in the eighth for the 11-8 final.

Ashley was 3-5 at the plate with two RBI, a triple and a run scored for the Panthers, while McCausland went 2-5 with a pair of runs batted in and scored once. Jackson Atwood (0-1) took the loss, tossing the final two innings for the Panthers.

Brandon Chow had two hits in four at-bats for the Bantams with a double and a run scored, while Miller was 1-3 with two walks and scored three times. William Simeone picked up the win on the mound, giving up just one hit over the final two frames.

During the contest with St. Olaf (4-4), Middlebury scored six runs in the top of the second to grab an early lead. David Byrne had an RBI single, while Samii reached on an error to drive in the second run. Zip Malley and Ashley both produced two-run singles later in the frame for the 6-0 advantage.

The Panther lead grew to 8-0 in the fourth when Schroeder doubled, bringing home Jack Stolper who doubled, and Ashley who reached on an error. The Oles cut the lead to 8-4 in the home half of the frame, as Harald Borg induced a walk with the bases loaded. Evan Hammonds belted a two-run single, while Andrew Nomoto drove in the fourth run.

Middlebury tacked on three more tallies in the fifth, as Stolper drove in a run on an St. Olaf fielding error, while McCausland brought home a pair with a single for an 11-4 lead. The Oles added a run in the fifth when Matthew Muller touched home on a wild pitch and moved to within four (11-7) one frame later on RBI singles by Nomoto and Evan Clark.

Byrne provided the final run of the contest, doubling home Beau Root who reached on a base hit with two outs in the eighth for the final 12-7 score.

Root went 3-5 and scored twice in the win, while Schroeder (2-3, 2 RBI, R), Malley (2-4, 2 RBI, R) and Byrne (2-5, 2 RBI) each collected a pair of hits for Middlebury.

Alex Rosario (2-1) picked up the win for the Panthers, allowing seven runs (four earned) on seven hits with seven strikeouts. Cole Crider went the final four innings, giving up two hits and punching out six to earn the save.

Nomoto was 3-3 with two RBI to lead St. Olaf, while Clark had two hits in five at-bats and drove in a run. Sam Westermeyer suffered the loss, giving up eight runs (four earned) on eight hits in four innings with three strikeouts.