The Middlebury softball team posted a split during Friday's doubleheader at Union (N.Y.). The Panthers scored 13 runs in the final four innings of the first game for a 13-2 victory, before falling 8-3 in the nightcap.
 
GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS

• The Dutchwomen struck for a pair of runs in the third inning on RBI singles by Karson Saunders and Ellie Wintringer.
• Middlebury took the lead during its next at-bat with three runs. Kristyn Carroll led off with a single and came around to score on a single to right by Tori Papaleo. A base hit by Jordyn Johnson drove home Jennifer Westphal to tie the contest, while McKenna Lont was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for a 3-2 lead.
• The Panthers added another tally in the fifth on back-to-back doubles from Carroll and Abby Santis.
• In the sixth, Middlebury exploded for five runs and took advantage of a pair of Union fielding miscues to grab a 9-2 advantage. Cece Ziegler and Westphal each produced RBI singles during the rally.
• The visitors tacked on four more runs in the seventh, highlighted by a two-run double by Megan Fox that fell inside the left-field line for a 13-2 edge. 
• The Dutchwomen added an unearned run in the seventh for the final 13-3 score. 

 GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS

• Union raced out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning. Saunders blasted a two-run homer to left to spark the burst.
• The Dutchwomen made it an 8-0 contest in the second when Wintringer doubled to left and touched home on a sacrifice fly by Tatum Perkins.
• Middlebury got that run back in the third as Lont reached on a fielder's choice and scurried to third on a double down the right-field line from Ziegler. Carroll drove in Lont on a sac fly to center to make the score 8-1.
• The score remained that way until the sixth when the Panthers pulled to within five (8-3). Santis ripped a one-out double to the base of the wall in right center, moved to third on a single to left by Lizzie Hannafey and scored on a single by Westphal. Hannafey later scored on a Union fielding miscue to plate the third Middlebury run.
• Union starting pitcher Autumn Duff got the final four outs to preserve the 8-3 decision.

NOTES

• Santis went a combined 5-9 in the two games with three doubles, giving her a NESCAC-best 10 for the season.
• The 13 runs in the opener for the Panthers were the most this scored this year and the highest output since a 19-7 triumph over Union on April 17, 2019.
• Middlebury and Union played for the 29th and 30th times in the all-time series with Union possessing a narrow 17-13 edge. The two teams played earlier this season in Florida, as the Panthers earned a 12-10 victory.

Middlebury has a quick turnaround as it hosts Amherst for its home-opening contests on Saturday. The NESCAC doubleheader is slated to begin at 2:00 p.m.