The Middlebury baseball team (27-11) scored 13 runs in the first four innings on Friday night and cruised to a 14-8 victory over Amherst (16-17-1) in game one of the 2022 NESCAC Tournament. The Panthers play Colby at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday in the double-elimination tournament hosted by Trinity, while the Mammoths will take on Hamilton at 10:30 a.m. With the victory, Middlebury sets a single-season program record for wins in a season with 27, surpassing the mark of 26 set in 2006 and 2019.

Amherst got on the board with a single run in the first on an RBI groundout by Luke Padian. The Panthers answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame. Beau Root led off with a single to right field, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly from Alec Ritch.

The Mammoths regained the lead in the second when Jack Dove singled and moved to third on a base hit off the bat of Christian Fagnant. Dove scampered home on a wild pitch for a 2-1 edge. Middlebury posted five runs in the home half of the inning, as Andrew Ashley ripped a three-run homer that banged off the right-field foul pole for a 4-2 lead. Root smacked an RBI triple to right-center gap, scoring Zip Malley who walked. Ritch followed with his second sac fly in as many innings to bring in Root for a 6-2 advantage.

Amherst pulled to within one (6-5) in the third with a trio of unearned runs with two outs, including a two-run single to right from Dove. The Panthers tacked on four runs in the third, highlighted by RBI base knocks from Ashley, Malley and John Collins, for a 10-5 lead. Middlebury added three more in the fourth on a two-run single from Malley and an RBI double by Ritch to lead by eight (13-5).

The Panthers increased the lead to 14-5 with a run in the sixth, as Root singled and eventually touched home on a base hit by Ritch.

Amherst scored three times in the eighth, including a two-run double by Ryan McIntyre, for the final 14-8 score.

Root finished with a 4-5 game at the plate with a double, an RBI, scored two runs and had two stolen bases. Malley had three hits in four at-bats with a career-high four runs scored and drove in three more. Ritch and Ashley were both 2-4 with four runs driven in, while Ashley touched home plate three times.

The Panthers swiped six stolen bases during Friday's victory, giving them a Division III-best 160 this spring. That total establishes a single-season record, eclipsing the mark of 159 set in 2019.

Alex Price went the first four innings on the mound for the Panthers, allowing five runs (two earned) on seven hits with five strikeouts. Freddy Mosier earned the win, tossing three innings with no runs and surrendered three hits to go along with four strikeouts.

SIx different Mammoth batters collected two hits, while McIntyre and Dove each drove in a pair. Jacob Ribitzki took the loss on the hill, giving up 10 runs (seven earned) on nine hits in the initial three innings.