The Middlebury baseball team used a nine-run fifth inning to take a lead they never relinquished in a 13-9 victory over St. Olaf on Monday. The contest was the squad's third at the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Oles took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second stanza. Kanen Kreafle belted a leadoff home run down the left-field line. Three batters later, Dex Pudduck plated Christopher Woodside with a double to left center before Neil Sevigny trotted home on a bases-loaded hit by pitch.
• Kreafle scored on a wild pitch in the third, extending the advantage to 4-0.
• Alexander Glasscock got the Panthers on the board during the bottom half. After advancing to second base on a single through the left side from Gus Parker, Glasscock broke for third and swiped the bag. A fielding error on the throw down allowed the rookie to cross home plate (4-1).
• The Middlebury bats came to life in the fifth. Brian Olson was plunked with the bases loaded before  Aiden Han roped a two-run double to left center. Han came around via a single to center by Henry Ayers to give the Panthers a 5-4 lead.
• The crooked inning continued when Sam Gersch's base knock up the middle plated Ayers to push the advantage to 6-4. A pair of batters were hit to load the bases and Anthony Pellagrini delivered, lacing a two-bagger to center for a four-run cushion. An Ole miscue brought Pellagrini and Olson home to make it 10-4.
• St. Olaf chipped away at the deficit two innings later. Cole Pleimann scored on a wild pitch and Sawyer Chell knocked in Kreafle with a hard-hit ball to the left side of the infield for a 10-6 contest.
• Patient eyes aided the Oles in the eighth. The squad had consecutive bases-loaded walks and a fielder's choice to trim the lead to one (10-9).
• Middlebury stayed the course, tacking on three insurance runs in the bottom half to rebuild a four-run lead (13-9). Brayden Mathews plated two on a base hit up the middle, while Pellagrini tallied his second extra-base blast with an RBI double that bounced over the right-field fence.
• After conceding a leadoff single in the ninth, reliever Dylan Knightly worked a 5-4-3 double play and a groundout to secure the save and triumph.

NOTES

• Gersch and Pellagrini led the charge offensively with three hits and two runs scored apiece. Pellagrini also tied his career high with three runs batted in.
• Han and Mathews each knocked in two in the victory.
• Knightly tallied his second save of the campaign, giving up one hit and one walk over 1.1 innings of work.
• The programs met for the second time, with the Panthers winning both matchups.

Middlebury returns to action on Wednesday for a single game against Lawrence University at 9:30 a.m.