The Middlebury softball team grabbed a 4-3 victory to open the series with Bates, but fell 5-3 in the second contest. The Panthers have won 11 of their last 13 games, improving to 17-5 overall.
 
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Olivia Scholes pushed Middlebury ahead 1-0 with a solo roundtripper to center field in the top of the first.
• The Bobcats threatened in the bottom half, loading the bases with one out. Emily Ye worked out of the jam with a strikeout and a flyout to right field.
• Cate Viola stretched the lead to 2-0 in the second, plating Kristyn Carroll with a double to left center field.
• Bates put three runners on base again in the second with a double by Ella Maher, a single from Zariya Anderson and a walk by Grace Householter, but could not push a runner across.
• Householter cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single that went through the right side.
• The Panthers added a run during the sixth. McKenna Lont touched home on a throw down to first base for a 3-1 score.
• Scholes extended the Middlebury lead to 4-1 with an insurance run in the seventh, bringing home Olivia Fleming on a double to center field.
• Bates threatened in the bottom half. Isabel Bettencourt crossed the plate on a Middlebury miscue and Sophie Garber tallied an RBI single to make it a 4-3 ballgame. That was as close as the Bobcats could get, as Ye struck out the final batter to claim the victory.

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• Bates jumped on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth, taking advantage of a Panther fielding error to bring home Misora Hashiramoto for the 1-0 edge.
• In the top of the fifth, Fleming belted a triple to drive in Samantha Hausman and knot the contest at 1-1. Fleming later scored along with Carroll when on an RBI single from Westphal, making it 3-1.
• The Bobcats responded in their half of the inning. Hashiramoto singled through the right side and scored on a double from Emma Yen. On the next play, Yen came around to score when Ella Maher blasted a double to right center, tying the game at 3-3. Bates kept its foot on the gas and loaded the bases. A base knock by Sophie Garber pushed Sienna Pietrasiewicz and Zariya Anderson across the plate for the 5-3 advantage.
• Middlebury looked to cut the deficit down in the top of the sixth with runners on second and third, but the Bobcats recorded the final out at home to secure the 5-3 win.

NOTES

• Ye earned the win in the circle in the first game, striking out eight over seven innings. 
• Scholes went 5-for-8 over the pair of games with one run, a pair of doubles and a homer.
• Carroll was 2-for-4 with a run and a triple in the opener, while Ye went 2-for-3 at the plate in the nightcap.
• The teams squared off for the 20th and 21st times, with Bates owning a slight advantage (12-9) in the series.

Middlebury returns home for a pair of doubleheaders this week, hosting St. Lawrence on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.