The Middlebury baseball team opened its spring trip to Florida on Sunday with a pair of games. The Panthers started their time in the Sunshine State with an 8-6 setback to Bethel, before dropping a 9-2 decision to Augustana (Ill.).

HIGHLIGHTS VS. BETHEL

• The Royals took an early lead in the bottom of the initial frame when Hayden Sperbeck ripped a run-scoring single to drive in Drew Girtz for a 1-0 advantage.
• Middlebury leveled the contest an inning later. Joe Basso blasted his first home run of the spring over the left-center field wall.
• Bethel loaded the bases in the third on a walk and two hit-by-pitches. Chris Cannon was plunked to push across Sperbeck, while Oran Hinkle trotted home on a balk for a 3-1 advantage.
• The Royals tallied a trio of runs in the fourth to make it a 6-1 game, highlighted by a two-RBI double by Hinkle.
• Middlebury chipped away with four tallies in the fifth. Alexander Glasscock started the rally with a double to center and scored on a base knock by Henry Ayers. JD Collins followed with a single before the pair were pushed across the plate on a two-base hit by Gus Parker. The Panthers took advantage of a Bethel fielding miscue to draw within one.
• The score remained that way until the Royals tacked on a run via a wild pitch in the sixth and a Cannon double to left center to score Hinkle two stanzas later.
• The navy and white mounted a late comeback when Sam Gersch and Parker roped doubles in the ninth. Bethel reliever Roman Lachenmayer shut down the rally with a strikeout to secure the 8-6 win.

HIGHLIGHTS VS. AUGUSTANA

• The Vikings struck with a run in the top of the first inning. Kaileb Hackman drew a two-out walk and scored on a triple to right field from Charlie Bergin for a 1-0 lead.
• Augustana made it a 2-0 contest in the third when AJ Macak lifted a home run to left-center field. 
• The Panthers responded with two in the home half of the fourth. Gersch led off with a bouncing single through the left side and jogged to the plate on an opposite-field roundtripper from Brian Olson to make it 2-2. Andrew Baay looked to keep the surge going with a one-out bunt single and a swipe of second base, but Viking pitcher Blake Nettleton got a popout and strikeout to end the inning.
• In the fifth, Augustana exploded with six runs on seven hits, including a two-run double from Ryan Coon and a homer off the bat of Zach Quimby that drove in three, pushing the advantage to 8-2.
• Middlebury looked to cut into the deficit in the eighth when Gersch roped a frame-starting double to right and scampered to third on a flyout. Nettleton worked around the base hit with a strikeout to keep it a six-run advantage.
• The Vikings manufactured an insurance run in their last plate appearance. Bergin doubled and later came home to score on a groundout by Coon for the final 9-2 decision.

NOTES

• Six different Panthers had multi-hit games against Bethel, paced by a 3-for-5 effort from Collins. Parker went 2-for-5 and recorded a career-best three RBI.
• Gersch went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored against Augustana.
• Middlebury and Bethel played for the second time, while the Panthers and Vikings squared off for the initial meeting in baseball.

Middlebury returns to action on Monday in Florida with a single game against St. Olaf beginning at 11:00 a.m.