The Middlebury softball team traveled south for a Wednesday afternoon doubleheader against Vermont State University Castleton. The navy and white brought back a pair of victories, logging a 10-6 triumph in game one before tallying a 14-4 win in five innings to close the midweek road trip.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS
- Castleton grabbed a 1-0 lead in its first at-bats. With one out and the bases loaded, Masson Billert worked a walk that allowed Maddy Dudley to cross the plate. Panther starter Emily Dowd recorded a strikeout and a pop-up in foul territory to limit the damage.
- The navy and white rallied a frame later. Sarah LaFond took the second pitch she saw to left field for a double and advanced to third on a bunt by Reagan Adiletta. LaFond later raced home on a passed ball, tying the game at 1-1. The two-out production continued with Katelyn Mikros and Olivia Scholes logging consecutive doubles for the second run. McKenna Lont capped the inning with an RBI base knock to right field to build a 3-1 lead.
- The Spartans rallied in the home half of the third, scoring five times on five hits to retake a 6-3 advantage. Dudley knocked in the fifth and sixth tallies via a single to right field.
- Middlebury fought back during the fourth. Mikros opened the inning with her second extra-base hit of the contest and came around on a Scholes single through the right side. After a base knock by Lont and a groundout, a Spartan miscue played the fifth Panther run. LaFond gave the visitors a 7-6 edge by plating Olivia Fleming and Lont on a base knock that split the left and center fielders.
- Reliever Mia Gilham entered the circle and recorded a 1-2-3 frame to protect the one-run advantage.
- The Panthers continued to execute with two away in the next half. Scholes and Kristyn Carroll recorded base knocks and each advanced a base on a passed ball. Fleming came up clutch for the Panthers with an RBI double down the left field line to extend the lead to three (9-6).
- Abby Hacker and Caley Napoletano looked to spark a surge by forcing a walk and a single during the bottom of the fifth. Gilham held strong, inducing a strikeout and a comebacker groundout.
- Carroll added the 10th tally in the squad's final chances at the plate, bringing home Scholes on a sacrifice fly.
- Gilham stamped the 10-6 win with consecutive groundouts and a swinging strikeout.
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS
- Middlebury grabbed a 1-0 edge in the top of the first, as Jen Westphal brought Lont home on a base knock through the right side.
- The Panthers broke the game open during their next at-bats. After an RBI fielder's choice, Carroll and Fleming lobbed consecutive run-scoring singles. A two-run double to right center from LaFond capped a six-run frame to make it 7-0.Â
- After a 1-2-3 inning by starter Emily Ye, the navy and white hit double digits during the top of the third. Westphal worked a bases-loaded walk before LaFond brought in two more on a single to right field, extending the lead to 10-0.
- Castleton cut into the deficit in the bottom half. Napoletano blasted a leadoff double to left field and advanced to third on a single by Jordan Hill. A base knock down the right field line from Dudley plated Napoletano for the first Spartan run. Four pitches later, Samera Rideout cleared the bases with a roundtripper to left field to trim the lead to six.
- A frame later, Middlebury's roaring offense continued to produce. A leadoff base on balls by Riley Keane and a Livy Schultz base knock up the middle put two runners on. A batter later, consecutive run-scoring singles from Lont and Carroll extended the Panther lead to 12-4. Fleming capped the three-run spurt on a sacrifice fly to left.
- Scholes added to her outstanding series output in the fifth, pushing Kelley Dever across the plate on a base knock through the left side to make it 14-4.
- The Spartans loaded the bags with two outs. Lont came on in relief and denied the scoring opportunity on a fielder's choice to the plate, capping the midweek sweep.
NOTES
- After picking up four knocks, Carroll has tallied 63 hits this season, surpassing her previous program mark of 61 set a campaign ago.
- The Panther also nabbed the career at-bats mark, besting Middlebury Athletics Hall of Famer Jessa Hoffman's '13 465 from 2010-13. Carroll sits with 467.
- Scholes went 5-for-7 with six runs scored and three runs batted in over the doubleheader. She also surpassed 100 hits in a Panther uniform.
- In the second contest, LaFond logged a career-high four runs batted in.
- Middlebury had a season-best six doubles in the opener.
- The navy and white won their 35th and 36th contests in the series against the Spartans.
Middlebury closes out the regular season with a doubleheader against Wesleyan on Saturday. The first pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.
