The Middlebury softball team wrapped up a busy spring trip by playing a tripleheader on Friday. The Panthers (6-4) opened with a 9-0 win in six innings over Lawrence, before falling to Carleton by the same score in the middle contest. Middlebury finished the day with a tough 9-8 setback in eight innings to Manchester. The Panthers open NESCAC play on April 1 with a three-game series at Amherst.
In the first game, Middlebury's Jewel Ashbrook hurled a two-hit shutout with five strikeouts to earn the win.
The Panthers set the tone early with a pair of runs in the first inning, as Noelle Ruschil tripled home a run and scored on a Sophie Bolinger base hit.
Middlebury added three runs in the fourth, sparked by a two-run single by Abby Santis while tacking on four more runs in the sixth. In the final inning, Ruschil and Megan Fox each plated runs with a single, and Sophia Marlino hit a sacrifice fly.
Ruschil went 2-2 with three RBI at the plate, while Fox delivered a pair of hits and drove in two runs.
Against Carleton, pitcher Logan Robinson paced the Knights with a complete game shutout.
Carleton led from the start with three runs in the top of the first before adding two runs in the fourth, sixth and seventh for the 9-0 final.
Jen McGann went 1-3 with a double for Middlebury, while Ruschil added a base hit.
The nightcap was the closest game of the day, with the Spartans scoring five times over the final two frames to pull out the win in extra innings.
After a solo home run by Fox gave the Panthers a 1-0 advantage, Manchester scored three times in the third frame to take the lead. Middlebury responded in the latter half of the stanza, as Ashbrook, Fox and Cece Ziegler each drove in a run with a hit.
Middlebury tallied singled runs in each of the next three innings to claim a 7-4 lead. Santis sandwiched a sacrifice fly and homer around another solo blast from Fox as the teams entered the seventh inning.
Manchester scored three times in the seventh frame and added two in the eighth, while the Panthers recorded an unearned run in the bottom half of the frame for the 9-8 final.
Fox was a perfect 4-4 for Middlebury with two homers and three RBI, while Sophia Marlino finished with three base hits.
