The Middlebury baseball team split Saturday's doubleheader against Hamilton in Clinton, New York. The Continentals logged a 9-7 win in seven innings in the opener before the Panthers returned the favor by a 10-4 margin in the second contest.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS

• Middlebury sprinted out to a 5-0 head start in the top of the first inning. With the bases loaded and no outs, Anthony Pellagrini wore a pitch to bring home Henry Ayers. A batter later, Andrew Baay plated Joe Basso and Sam Gersch on an RBI single through the left side to make it 3-0. Pellagrini scored on a wild pitch and Pablo Spielman-Rodriguez tallied a run-scoring groundout to second to round out the five-run burst.
• After the first three Continental batters reached base safely in the home half, Satish Raichur erased the zero on a groundout to first base. A Panther miscue and an RBI single from Alfonso Rada added three more tallies for a 5-4 score.
• Hamilton moved ahead in the fourth frame. After a lead-off double by Rada, Ethan Righter brought his teammate home on a base knock to left to tie the game at 5-5. Two batters later, Gianni DiCerbo smacked a run-scoring double into the left-center gap to grab a 6-5 lead. 
• The navy and white regained the advantage during the fifth. Brayden Mathews opened the session with a single and came around to score on a fielder's choice. After a single up the middle by Joe Basso, a Continental miscue allowed Ayers to cross the plate, restoring a 7-6 Middlebury edge.
• Hamilton made another move an inning later. Michael Tallarida worked a two-out single to put the game-tying run on base. Three free passes knotted the contest at seven and Edo Spadaccini tallied the decisive hit two pitches later, plating Raichur and Jeremy Diaz on a base knock through the right side to push the hosts in front 9-7.
• Ayers and Gersch each tried to spark the offense in the following frame with two-baggers, but reliever Mantas Kempinas induced a popout and groundout to hold on for the win.

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS

• Lucas Herman smacked an RBI double down the left field line in the bottom of the first frame to grant the hosts a 1-0 lead.
• The Continentals doubled their advantage an inning later, as a Panther miscue allowed Rada to score.
• Middlebury's bats warmed during the visiting half of the third. After Aiden Han and Ayers reached on a single and double, respectively, Basso plated both with a base hit to knot the game at 2-2. Two batters later, Pellagrini lifted a three-run homer over the left-field wall to give the Panthers a 5-2 advantage.
• Baay scored on a wild pitch in the sixth to extend the lead to four (6-2). Raichur and Taylor Kaufman made it into scoring position during the bottom half, but Emmet George worked a strikeout and a flyout to quell the opportunity. 
• Pellagrini plated the seventh Panther run a frame later with a sacrifice fly to left field.
• Herman cut the deficit to 7-4 on an RBI double to right center during the bottom of the seventh.
• The navy and white added three insurance runs in the eighth frame, headlined by a two-run triple from Ayers into the right-center field gap, making the score 10-4.
• Christian Zebrowski tallied a flyout and consecutive groundouts to seal the six-run victory.

NOTES

• Basso went 4-of-9 over the two contests, logging three runs scored and three RBI.
• Pellagrini drove in a team-high five runs.
• George logged his first victory of the campaign on the mound, going six innings and striking out seven batters in the second contest. 
• With the victory in game two, head coach Mike Leonard logged his 200th win at Middlebury.

The sides close the three-game slate on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.