The Middlebury baseball team put together a late comeback bid during Friday's 11th inning, but Johnson & Wales hung on for a wild 12-11 victory in the NCAA Regional opener for both teams.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Wildcats took an early lead with a run in the top of the first inning. Jack Obert led off with a double down the left-field line, moved to third on a base hit and scored on a sacrifice fly from EJ Leone.
• The Panthers tied the contest (1-1) in the home half of the inning. With one away, Alec Ritch and John Collins drew consecutive walks and quickly executed a double steal before Ritch touched home plate on a groundout from Kyle McCausland.
• Johnson & Wales regained a one-run advantage in the second frame. Owen Davis ripped a one-out double to left and scored on a base hit up the middle by Thorin Sanchez-Guerra for a 2-1 edge.
• Middlebury took a 3-2 lead in the third when Ritch walked and trotted around the bases on a home run from McCausland that wrapped around the left-field foul pole.
• The Wildcats leveled the game (3-3) with a single unearned tally in the fourth as Sanchez-Guerra walked and eventually scored on an infield single to third. 
• The Panthers loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame, grabbing a 4-3 advantage on a fielder's choice off the bat of Root. Ritch's third walk of the game reloaded the bases, as Collins ripped a single to center to drive in Nathan Samii and Root for a 6-3 lead.
• Johnson & Wales pulled to within a run (6-5) in the top of the fifth on a two-run single up the middle by Jack Magane. 
• In the back-and-forth contest, the Wildcats made it 6-6 in the sixth as Trevor Juan tripled to center and scored on a base knock to left by Miles Kelly. After a walk, Middlebury relief pitcher Henry Gustavson induced a double play to get out of the jam.
• The Panthers scored twice in the seventh and once in the eighth for a 9-6 advantage.
• Down to its last at-bat in the top of the ninth, Obert walked with the bases loaded to make it a 9-7 contest, before a two-run single to left by Juan tied the game at 9-9.
• In the bottom of the ninth, Middlebury got a runner to second when Andrew Gough walked and scampered to second on a wild pitch, but Wildcat pitcher Garrett Fusco induced a groundout to send the game to extra innings.
• After a scoreless 10th inning, Johnson & Wales took a 12-9 edge on RBI singles from Obert and Juan followed by a passed ball. 
• The Panthers mounted a comeback bid in the home half of the inning. Sammy Smith drew a leadoff walk before Samii blasted a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall to pull Middlebury within one (12-11). Wildcat reliever Kyle Cutler got a flyout and a strikeout to end the threat for the final 12-11 score.

NOTES

• The Panthers tied a pair of single-game walk records in the contest, as Ritch drew four base on balls, giving him seven over the last three games. As a team, Middlebury worked the count to earn 17 walks.
• Alex Price struck out eight batters on the mound during his 114-pitch effort, becoming the first pitcher in program history to surpass 200 career strikeouts (203).
• McCausland's homer tied him for the team lead with 11, including five in his last seven games. 

The Panthers return to action on Saturday morning in the double-elimination regional with a scheduled 8:30 a.m. contest against #4 Endicott.