The Middlebury softball team has earned the two seed for the upcoming NESCAC Tournament. The squad meets seventh-seeded Bates on Friday at 4:00 p.m. in Brunswick, Maine.

ABOUT MIDDLEBURY

• Middlebury appears in the conference tournament for the 15th time.
• The squad seeks its fourth championship game appearance and second title in program history.
• Middlebury enters the bracket claiming wins in six of its last seven contests and is one away from breaking the single-season victory total of 30 set in 2011.
• The Panthers slot in the top three for numerous offensive categories. The navy and white share second with a .342 batting average and trail only Tufts in hits (361) and slugging percentage (.477). Middlebury is third with 248 runs scored and 216 runs batted in.

PANTHERS TO WATCH

• Kristyn Carroll has picked up where she left off after a stellar campaign a year ago. The Panther is one of two players to average .500 or better in conference competition and leads the team in at-bats (132), hits (67), runs (44) and stolen bases (32). During the season, Carroll has broken the career records for at-bats (474), hits (230) and runs scored (173). The outfielder also reset the single-season marks with 67 hits and nine triples heading into the weekend.
• Also powering the Panther offense is Reagan Adiletta. The rookie has appeared in all 38 contests and ranks second on the team with 40 hits alongside a .377 batting average. 
• The duo of Jen Westphal and Sarah LaFond has combined for nearly a quarter of the team's runs batted in this season. Westphal has a career-high 38 hits and 36 RBI over 36 contests. LaFond comes off a regular-season finale slate that included 10 runs driven across and vaulted her to second on the squad in batting average among qualified hitters (.400).
• Rookie Emily Dowd leads a pitching staff that has logged a 3.46 earned run average (ERA), which sits fourth in the conference. Dowd owns an 11-1 mark over 94.2 innings of work alongside three saves and a 2.45 ERA. Her 87 strikeouts also sit fifth in school history for a single campaign alongside seven complete games.
• McKenna Lont sports a 9-4 record in the circle and is second on the team with 37 strikeouts. The senior also became the eighth pitcher in program history to surpass 300 innings pitched. 

ABOUT BATES

• Bates secures a spot in the conference tournament for the sixth time and earns the seventh seed for this year's installment.
• The Bobcats look to reach the semifinals for the second time in the last four seasons.
• Bates slots third in the NESCAC for fielding percentage (.964) and assists (313).

BOBCATS TO WATCH

• Maddy Miller leads Bates with a .372 batting average and a .577 slugging percentage. The infielder has reached base safely in eight of her last 10 contests, highlighted by a 3-for-3 output in game two of a doubleheader against Wesleyan on April 17.
• Sitting tied for first with Miller in total hits is Maya Lee. The junior has 29 hits and paces the Bobcats with 17 runs scored. 
• Isabel Bettencourt has also contributed a team-high 17 runs batted in and has crossed the plate 16 times. She sits second with 101 putouts.
• The three-pitcher trio of Delaney Rankin (2.13), Isabella Albro (2.74) and Brigid Gaffny (2.80) leads a staff that slots third in the NESCAC with a combined 3.18 ERA. Albro and Gaffny have each thrown north of 65 innings this season.

SERIES HISTORY

• Middlebury and Bates meet for the third time this season and 24th in the series. The Bobcats hold a narrow 12-11 lead.
• The Panthers have won three out of the last four matchups, including a 1-0 and 7-3 doubleheader sweep on April 11th.
• The sides have never met in the NESCAC Tournament.

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

• Tufts earns the top seed for the fourth year in a row since the conference switched from an East-West Division format. The Jumbos lead the NESCAC with 13 titles, including the 2025 edition. 
• Williams has eight titles and is searching for its third in the last four campaigns. The Ephs are the fifth seed in this year's tournament. 
• Wesleyan rounds out the group of previous champions after claiming the crown in 2010. The Cardinals own the eighth seed and battle Tufts on Friday.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

• The top eight teams qualify for the single-elimination NESCAC Softball Championship. Two quarterfinal games will be played on Friday, May 8th with the remaining two, alongside the semifinals, occurring on Saturday, May 9th. The final two teams meet in the championship game on Sunday, May 10th.
• Championship Central

The winner of the conference tournament earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The full field will be announced on Monday, May 11th at 11:00 a.m.