The Middlebury baseball team tied a season-high with four home runs, as the Panthers slugged their way to a 13-3 triumph at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) on Wednesday. The Panthers (6-6) begin NESCAC West play on Friday at 4:00 p.m., opening a three-game series at Hamilton.

Middlebury has shown tremendous power in the early stages of the season. The Panthers rank among the national leaders in home runs per game with 18 in just 12 contests. 

The Panthers jumped out to the early lead in the top of the second, as John Collins belted a solo home run to left-center field for a 1-0 edge.

The Engineers (7-9) pulled even in the bottom half of the frame, using an RBI double to left field by George Rainer to knot the score at 1-1. RPI took the lead an inning later when Joe Curci scored from third on a wild pitch.

Middlebury exploded for six runs in the top of the fourth stanza to gain control of the game. Sammy Smith ripped a two-run homer deep to left field, while Beau Root plated two more runs with a double. Kyle McCausland tacked on a pair of scores with a single, extending the lead to 7-2.

Collins delivered his team-leading fourth-round tripper of the spring in the top portion of the fifth inning with a two-run shot to right field. Lucas Flemming continued the power surge for the visitors later in the frame, connecting on a three-run blast to make it a 12-2 contest.

RPI pushed a run across in the last half of the frame to make the score 12-3, as Jake Defayette drove in the run with a double to center field.

The Panthers put the finishing touches on the win in the eighth, scoring on a base hit by Smith to drive home McCausland for the 13-3 final.

Collins had a big game at the plate for the Panthers, going 3-5 with two homers, three runs scored and three RBI. Mitchell Schroeder had a productive game, finishing with two hits, a walk and two runs scored.

Middlebury utilized seven pitchers in the game, as they combined to strike out 14 RPI batters. Henry Gustavson (1-1) got the win tossing a perfect inning.

Curci reached base three times for the Engineers, going 1-2 with a pair of base on balls. Brendan Bucceri (0-1) was tagged with the loss, giving up six runs in two-thirds of an inning.