The Middlebury softball team split its first two games to open its spring trip on Saturday, downing the University of Southern Maine 12-7 before falling 12-0 in five innings to Montclair State. The Panthers played both games at Hancock Park in Clermont, Florida as part of THE Spring Games.
 
HIGHLIGHTS VS. SOUTHERN MAINE

• Middlebury scored first with a pair of tallies in the top of the initial inning when McKenna Lont and Nina Schroeder reached on Huskie miscues.
• Southern Maine responded with four runs in the bottom of the frame, capped by an RBI double from Meaghan Dufresne, for a 4-2 edge.
• Olivia Scholes blasted a two-run home run to center in the top of the third to plate Kristyn Carroll, who doubled to begin the inning, to level the contest at 4-4.
• Middlebury grabbed a 5-4 advantage in the fourth. Skylar Wong singled to left center and later touched home on a pop out.
• The Panthers exploded for five runs in the fifth to take a 10-4 lead. Schroeder started the rally with an RBI single, while Jennifer Westphal and Wong drew walks with the bases loaded. Carroll completed the scoring with a sacrifice fly.
• The Huskies scored three times in the fifth on a passed ball and run-scoring base hits from Olivia Levasseur and Alana DeLisle to cut the deficit to 10-7.
• In the top of the sixth, Caitlin Stanley singled and came around to score on a two-run homer to left by Westphal for the final 12-7 tally.

HIGHLIGHTS VS. MONTCLAIR STATE

• Montclair State jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the top of the first stanza. Jordyn Hester, Avery Mochrie and Rileigh Glynn had RBI singles, while Katie Brunner blasted a three-run homer to center.
• The Red Hawks touched home four more times in the second and third innings combined for a 10-0 lead.
• Middlebury looked to put together a rally with one out in the bottom of the third. Kelley Dever singled to right and Olivia Schultz walked to put runners on first and second. Montclair State starting pitcher Sage Rizzi got a double play to get out of the jam.
• The Red Hawks added tallies in the fourth and fifth stanzas for the final 12-0 score.

NOTES

• The home runs by Scholes and Westphal in the opener were the first of the season for each player.
• Carroll moved up in a pair of career statistical categories on Saturday. She drew a walk against the Huskies to move to third all-time with 47, while her two runs increased her total to 112 and moved her into third. 
• Middlebury and Southern Maine played for the 10th time overall and the first since 2016 with the Panthers holding an 8-2 advantage in the series. 
• The Panthers and Montclair State competed for the first time in softball.

Middlebury is back in action on Sunday when it takes on the University of Chicago at 9:00 a.m. and Endicott at 11:30 a.m., with both games being contested at Hancock Park.