The Middlebury softball team hit the field for the second day of its trip to Florida for THE Spring Games. The Panthers dropped a 9-3 contest to the University of Chicago before defeating Endicott 11-8.

HIGHLIGHTS VS. UCHICAGO

• UChicago tallied the first run of the game on an RBI groundout from Kate Bannister to make it 1-0.
• The Maroons added six runs in the top of the third, highlighted by run-scoring singles from Sedona Ding and Matilda Nelson, for a 7-0 lead.
• In the bottom of the fourth, Middlebury chipped away at the deficit. Olivia Scholes plated Kristyn Carroll with an RBI single to left-center field and Jennifer Westphal followed with a groundout to drive in Scholes and cut the lead to 7-2.
• UChicago tallied twice in the fifth with a run-scoring single from Maya Martinez and a groundout from Paige Zvokel for a 9-2 ballgame.
• The Panthers added a run on a Maroon miscue in the bottom of the sixth for the final 9-3 score. 

HIGHLIGHTS VS. ENDICOTT

• Middlebury opened the scoring in its first at-bat. Carroll led off with a single up the middle and later scored on an RBI base hit through the left side by Scholes for a 1-0 edge.
• Endicott tied the contest in the bottom half with a single by Hadley Marchand to right center to plate Christian Nowicki. 
• The home team took a 2-1 lead in the second on a bases-loaded walk to force in Ava Kelley.
• Middlebury battled back in the third. After the first three batters reached on walks, Scholes smashed a bases-clearing double to left center to push the Panthers ahead 4-2.
• The Panthers added another run in the fourth on an RBI single from Olivia Fleming to make it 5-2.
• Middlebury increased its lead to four (6-2) in the fifth when Olivia Schultz plated Scholes on a run-scoring double down the right-field line.
• Endicott cut the deficit to 6-3 in the bottom half on an RBI single through the right side by Mia Mitchell.
• In the sixth, Kelley Dever raced home on an Endicott miscue to extend the cushion back to four (7-3).
• The Gulls put together a rally in the bottom of the stanza, using a bases-loaded walk and RBI single up the middle by Paige Berdos for a 7-6 score.
• Middlebury answered with a two-out rally in the next frame. Carroll plated two with a single to center field and Viola added another with an RBI base knock to make it 10-6. Carroll capped the scoring by crossing the plate on a bases-loaded walk for an 11-6 lead.
• Endicott plated two in the seventh but could not get any closer as Middlebury held on for the 11-8 triumph.

NOTES

• Carroll went 5-for-8 over the two contests, tallying two runs batted in and three runs scored.
• Scholes tallied a career-high four RBI against the Gulls.
• Middlebury and UChicago met for the fifth time with all matchups coming in the Sunshine State.
• The Panthers earned their first win in the series against Endicott.

Middlebury returns to the diamond on Tuesday for two games against Framingham State (9:00 a.m.) and Knox College (11:30 a.m.).