The Middlebury softball team grabbed one of two contests on Saturday against Colby on Senior Day. The Panthers secured a 4-2 triumph in game one before falling 6-4 in the second contest. Before the nightcap, the squad honored seniors Samantha Hausman, Abigail Jankowski and Nina Schroeder.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Middlebury took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI groundout from McKenna Lont.
• The Mules fought back during the third stanza with two outs. Caroline DeSimone plated Katelyn Hayes with a single through the right side to knot the contest. A batter later, Carissa Cassidy smacked a run-scoring base knock to right field for a 2-1 edge.
• Colby threatened to extend its cushion an inning later by loading the bases with two outs, but Lont pitched out of the jam with a fielder's choice to shortstop.
• Middlebury manufactured a run-scoring chance of its own in the bottom half of the frame. Lont smoked a double to left and Caitlin Stanley forced a walk. KC Desarno induced a flyout and groundout to keep the one-run advantage.
• The Panthers grabbed the lead back in the fifth. After Kristyn Carroll and Cate Viola tallied back-to-back singles, Jennifer Westphal smoked a three-run homer over the left-field wall to make it 4-2.
• The Mules brought the go-ahead run to the plate during their final at-bat, but Lont closed out the complete game with a groundout to seal the two-run triumph. 

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• The guests tallied the initial run of the contest with a run-scoring single through the right side from Cassidy.
• Middlebury tied the game (1-1) via a Westphal RBI single up the middle in the home half.
• The Panthers tallied a trio of runs during the third stanza. After consecutive singles from Olivia Fleming, Carroll and Viola, Scholes made the score 2-1 via an RBI groundout. The hosts were not done in the inning, as Westphal plated Carroll and Viola with a base knock up the middle to extend the lead to 4-1.
• Colby looked to cut into the deficit in the top of the fourth. Avery Lyman and Hays tallied walks to put runners on first and second with two outs. Pitcher Abigail Jankowski shut down the rally with a strikeout to keep the three-run advantage.
• The visitors threatened again an inning later, loading the bases with two outs. Hausman, who came in at the beginning of the frame to relieve Jankowski, forced a groundout to stifle the scoring chance.
• Fleming and Carroll opened the bottom of the fifth with back-to-back singles, but Ashley Correll retired three consecutive Panthers to keep the score 4-1.
• After a rain delay of 27 minutes, the game resumed in the top of the sixth. Colby trimmed the lead down to two (4-2) on an infield base knock from Victoria Ramirez.
• The Mules roared back during their final at-bat with four runs, capped by an RBI single by Ramirez, to secure the 6-4 triumph.

NOTES

• With her two walks, Carroll has 61 in her career. That breaks the previous program record of 60 set by Kimber Sable '14. 
• Carroll tallied four hits over the doubleheader, passing Jessa Hoffman's single-season program mark of 57 from the 2013 campaign.
• Over two contests, Westphal collected three hits and a team-high six runs batted in.
• Lont earned her 25th career victory in game one, striking out four and giving up six hits.

The Panthers close their regular-season home slate with a doubleheader against Keene State on Thursday, with the first pitch scheduled for 3:30 p.m.