The Middlebury baseball team (11-7) swept Colby (12-5) in doubleheader action on Forbes Field Sunday afternoon. The Panthers tallied a pair of home runs in each contest, as they now lead the NESCAC with 27 on the season. Middlebury won the first of two seven-inning contests by a score of 16-5 and triumphed 15-5 in the nightcap. The Panthers are back in action on Tuesday when they host Saint Michael's at 4:00 p.m. 
 
The Mules opened the scoring in their first at-bat. Brady O'Brien singled, stole second, advanced to third on a single by Cole Palmeri and scampered home on the throw for a 1-0 edge. Middlebury knotted the game 1-1 when Alec Ritch reached on a fielding error, stole second and touched home on a single by Andrew Ashley.
 
The Panthers added a run in the second and a pair of scores in the third to take a 4-1 advantage. Middlebury exploded with four runs in the bottom of the fourth. John Collins led off with his team-best sixth homer of the year. Zip Malley followed with a single to left center, before stealing second, advancing to third on a base-hit by Sawyer Duarte and crossing home plate on the throw. Root walked, before he and Duarte each stole a base. Ritch tripled down the right-field line to drive home Root and Duarte for the 8-1 lead. 
 
Colby responded with four runs of its own in the top of the sixth. Cabot Maher and O'Brien singled, before Drew Miller was hit by a pitch to load the bases. O'Brien scored when Cliny Flippo walked, while Maher and Miller each scored later in the inning to cut the deficit to three (8-5).
 
The Panthers cracked the game open in their final at-bat, scoring eight times. Duarte walked and Root singled, before Mitchell Schroeder's single through the left side drove in Duarte. Root touched home on a base-hit by Ritch, before Ritch and pinch-runner Jack Stolper scored on a triple to right center by Kyle McCausland. Lucas Flemming doubled to left center to drive in Malley, John Collins and McCausland, before scoring the final run himself on a fielder's choice for the 16-5 final. 
 
Alex Price (2-2) earned the win for Middlebury, allowing just one run on three hits, while striking out nine over five innings of work. Julian Erro (0-1) suffered the loss with seven runs on seven hits over three innings.
 
Ritch paced the Panthers, going 3-3 at the plate with a pair of triples and five RBI. Flemming scored two runs on a pair of hits with four runs batted in and a homer, while Root had three scores on a pair of runs. 
 
O'Brien touched home plate twice with two hits for Colby, while Charlie Furlong had two RBI. 
 
The Mules came out swinging in the second game of the day, with Marcus Forrester leading off with a roundtripper to center field for the 1-0 edge. 
 
Sammy Smith returned the favor in the second inning, leading off with his own home run to knot the game 1-1. McCausland reached on an error and stole second, Malley walked, and each advanced a base on a wild pitch. Flemming reached on a fielder's choice, loading the bases for Middlebury. McCausland scampered home on a passed ball and Flemming later scored. Chris Borter touched home on a double by Root, before Root scored on a single by Schroeder. Ritch closed out the inning with a two-run homer to center to make it 7-1. 
 
With two outs in the top of the third, Palmeri belted a two-run double down the left-field line, driving in a pair of runs for Colby to cut the deficit to four (7-3). 
 
Middlebury responded in its half of the inning with six runs. McCausland walked before scoring on a single to right center by Malley. Borter blasted a triple down the left field line to drive in Malley and Collins, before touching home himself on a sacrifice fly by Root. Schroeder singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Ritch. Later in the inning, a single by McCausland drove in Schroeder to make it 13-3. 
 
The Mules scored a pair of runs in the fourth, before Middlebury secured the victory with a run in the fourth and one in its final at-bat for the 15-5 victory.
 
Alex Rosario (4-1) earned his fourth win of the season, striking out four over the initial four innings. Jack Bohrer took the loss for Colby, allowing seven runs on five hits over two innings.
 
Borter was a perfect 3-3 at the plate with three RBI, a double and a triple. Ritch had two runs on two hits, scoring three to go along with his homer. 
 
Forrester was 2-2 with an RBI for the Mules, while Palmeri had two hits and a pair of RBI.