In a conference tournament bracket altered by inclement weather, the second-seeded Middlebury softball team claimed its second NESCAC Championship in program history. The Panthers outlasted third-seeded Colby in 11 innings to earn a 6-4 victory, before securing the crown and first since 2011 with a 7-5 triumph over fifth-seeded Williams.
HIGHLIGHTS VS. COLBY
- Emma Burnham nudged the Mules ahead in the opening inning, depositing a solo home run over the wall in left-center field for a 1-0 edge. Juliana Kiley logged a two-out double an out later, but Panther pitcher McKenna Lont coaxed a swinging strikeout to end the stanza.
- The navy and white knotted the tilt at 1-1 in the home half. Kristyn Carroll worked a one-out walk and stole second base before crossing on an RBI single through the right side from Jen Westphal.
- Julia Berry led off the third with a hit before Burnham guided her to second with a sacrifice bunt. Ella Wilcox doubled Berry in before Kiley delivered a two-run roundtripper to extend the advantage to 4-1.
- Middlebury penned a prompt response in the bottom half, dicing the deficit to one (4-3). Carroll got the wheels turning with an infield single and a swipe of second. Olivia Fleming followed with a base hit to bring her home. Westphal reached on a fielder's choice, and Livy Schultz drove her in on a knock to right field for the third tally.
- Colby eyed insurance runs in the fourth. Avery Lyman and Caroline DeSimone recorded consecutive singles and gained a bag on an error. With the sacks loaded later in the frame, reliever Emily Dowd induced a pair of swinging strikeouts to keep the Mules off the board.
- The Panthers filled the bags in the home half. Katelyn Mikros drew a five-pitch walk before Lont worked a base on balls and Carroll added a single to left field. Sharlotte Stazinski entered and coaxed a pair of punchouts to halt the surge.
- In the top of the fifth, Victoria Ramirez was plunked with two away. Lyman poked a single to right and DeSimone walked to place a Mule on every bag, but Dowd slammed the door by fanning Kelsey Sullivan on a full count.
- An inning later, Colby nearly widened the gap. Carissa Cassidy singled to center, followed by a Burnham base knock and an Ella Wilcox fielder's choice to load the bases once again. Kiley slapped a ball to the right side of the infield that Olivia Scholes gloved and fired home to retire Cassidy and hold the 4-3 score.
- Middlebury sent the contest into extra innings with a rally in the seventh. LaFond worked a base on balls after an eight-pitch at-bat. Down to the final out, Scholes roped an RBI double to right and LaFond raced around to knot the matchup at 4-4.
- The Panthers were first to bring the potential game-winning run within 60 feet after Scholes sent a two-bagger to left-center and nabbed third on a passed ball. Stazinski drew a swinging strikeout and a flyout to prolong the affair.
- Lont led off the bottom of the 11th with a base hit to left. Westphal called game in the bottom of the 11th inning, uncorking a walk-off two-run blast to send the navy and white to its first NESCAC Championship game since the 2013 campaign.
HIGHLIGHTS VS. WILLIAMS
- Carroll found a hole through the left side for a single in the top of the first. Fleming followed with a base hit before both runners moved up on a passed ball. Eph pitcher Katie Blanch induced a punchout and groundout to escape the inning.
- Middlebury knocked on the door in the second. Scholes worked a leadoff walk before Schultz moved her ahead on the basepaths with a sacrifice bunt. Reagan Adiletta earned a jog to first base before a passed ball placed the pair in scoring position, but Blanch stalled the run with a groundout to third.
- With two outs in the home portion of the third, Justine Dunaway and Haley Barrett each secured free passes to first. Blanch tried to help her own cause with a base knock, but Mikros fielded the ball in left and fired to Scholes, who hosed the potential opening run at the plate to complete the 7-6-2 putout.
- The Panthers cracked the contest open during a rain-delayed fourth inning. Scholes and Mikros earned free passes, with the former gaining third on a passed ball. Adiletta pushed Middlebury ahead with an RBI groundout before consecutive walks to Lont and Carroll loaded the bases as the drops began to fall.
- Following the stoppage, Fleming, Westphal and LaFond each reached on fielder's choices with no outs recorded to usher four runs across and manufacture a 5-0 lead.
- Barrett trimmed the margin to three for Williams with a two-run hit to left (5-2) during the bottom of the fifth.
- The navy and white restored the five-run advantage in the following stanza. Carroll tripled down the left-field line and dashed home on a passed ball, while Fleming launched a long ball to left for the 7-2 lead.
- The Ephs reduced the lead to a pair in the sixth, beginning when pinch-hitter Annabella Rychetsky delivered a double to the left-center gap. Aprill Medrano worked a five-pitch free pass before Dani Jackman scored the leadoff hitter with a two-bagger. Sidney Miller and Barrett each earned an RBI on a groundout and a base on balls, respectively, to make it a 7-5 ballgame.
- Emily Ye punctuated the contest with a three-up, three-down seventh to cement the conference title.
NOTES
- Carroll went 5-for-7 with a trio of walks and four runs scored across the two games. She surpassed her own school record for runs scored in a season (48) during the title game.
- Westphal drove in a trio of Panthers and scored a pair in the opener.
- Fleming was critical in game two, finishing 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a pair of RBI.
- With winning decisions in each of the bouts, Dowd became the program's single-season leader in wins with 14.
- Ye earned the championship save after re-entering the contest in the fourth. She conceded just two hits and fanned five hitters across five innings.
- Middlebury's 41 games played mark a program record in a singular spring.
- The title marked Middlebury College's 125th NESCAC Championship across all sports.
- Sunday marked the third meeting between the Panthers and each opponent this season. Middlebury has faced Colby on 29 occasions and has squared off with Williams 77 times.
The Panthers secured the NESCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history. Middlebury awaits to hear its path to Salem, Virginia when the field is announced during a selection show on Monday, May 11 at 11:00 a.m.
