The Middlebury baseball team concluded its spring trip in California in impressive fashion, sweeping a three-game set against Chapman. The visitors rallied from seven runs down on Friday for a 12-10 triumph, while taking both ends of a doubleheader on Saturday by scores of 7-6 and 10-5. During the series, Kyle McCausland became the program's career runs scored leader with 130.
 
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS - FRIDAY

• Chapman raced out a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run homer by Josh Phillips. 
• The hosts added two tallies in the third and fourth frames followed by a run in the fifth, including an RBI double by Joey Capobianco that plated a pair, for a 7-0 advantage.
• Nathan Samii got the visitors on the board with a sacrifice fly in the sixth before Chapman answered with two in the bottom of the frame for a 9-1 lead.
• Middlebury pulled to within 9-2 in the seventh on a single through the left side by Pablo Spielman-Rodriquez. 
• McCausland blasted a two-run roundtripper in the eighth before the visitors took advantage of a Chapman miscue to cut the deficit to four (9-5).
• The visitors' offense exploded for seven runs in the top of the ninth, highlighted by a two-run triple from Carter Chi and an RBI base knock by Spielman-Rodriquez that plated a pair, to grab a 12-9 lead.
• Chapman posted a single tally in the bottom of the frame, but Charlie Kutz recorded a game-ending strikeout for the save and the 12-10 win. 

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS - SATURDAY

• Middlebury scored first in the opener on an RBI groundout from Will Ashley in the top of the first.
• Chapman posted a trio of tallies in the second, including a steal of home by Brennan Beckley, for a 3-1 lead.
• The visitors regained the advantage in the third touching home four times, including a two-run double from McCausland and a sac fly by Chi, for a 5-3 advantage.
• Chapman answered with three in the fifth to take a 6-5 edge, including an infield single from Capobianco.
• Middlebury responded with two runs a frame later for a 7-6 edge. Samii brought home Chi on a fielder's choice, while Ben Slaughter raced home on a wild pitch.
• The visitor bullpen slammed the door on the Chapman offense, limiting the hosts to three hits over the final four innings, as Reed Hyde tallied his first career save. 

GAME THREE HIGHLIGHTS - SATURDAY

• In the nightcap, Middlebury took an early 1-0 lead in the first when McCausland drove in Samii with a base hit up the middle.
• Chapman secured a 2-1 advantage in the home half on run-scoring base hits by Brad Lang and Matt Campopiano.
• Middlebury regained the advantage with four tallies in the third, highlighted by a three-run roundtripper from Anthony Pellagrini.
• Chapman sliced the lead to one (5-4) in the bottom of the stanza on an RBI double by Lang and a sac fly off the bat of Campopiano.
• Middlebury added an Owen Fox run-scoring single in the fourth and grabbed a 10-4 advantage with four more scores in the fifth, highlighted by a bases-clearing double by Samii, for a 10-4 lead.
• Chapman moved to within five (10-5) on a Phillips homer in the home portion, but the Middlebury bullpen shined again by surrendering just two combined hits over the last 12 outs for the 10-5 win.

NOTES

• Ashley was a combined 6-for-15 over the three wins with a pair of doubles.
• McCausland went 5-for-15 with a pair of two-baggers, a homer and five runs scored. The senior became the program's career leader in runs scored with 130. He also has 39 career doubles and 170 hits, moving him into second place in each category. 
• The sides played for the third, fourth and fifth meetings with Middlebury taking a 3-2 edge in the all-time series.

Middlebury returns east and plays a single game on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. against Plattsburgh State.