On a chilly, windy Saturday in Vermont, the Middlebury College baseball team saw their postseason hopes take a severe hit at the hands of the Wesleyan Cardinals, who took both games of a double-header to win the overall series two games to three. The loss dropped the Panthers to 5-4 in NESCAC play, and 8-9 overall on the year.
The series had started off optimistically enough for Middlebury, who scored six runs in their half of the first inning to take a 6-2 lead early in the contest. In the second inning, the Panthers were able to add to the lead thanks to a Joe Conway ’13 homer to left field and a Michael Morris ’13 RBI single. After Wesleyan chased Middlebury starter Nick Angstman ’11 in the top of the fourth with the score at 10-7, Andy Dittrich took the mound and calmed things down, going two and a third innings without allowing a run. Captain Donnie McKillop ’11 and Zach Roeder ’12 both added RBIs in the bottom of the sixth, rounding out the scoring for the Panthers. Tyler Buckingham ’13 and John Popkowski ’13 finished the game off for Middlebury, refusing to allow a run between the two of them.
Poised to make some serious noise in the NESCAC west standings with a good performance Saturday, the Panthers instead saw their early-season momentum slip through their gloves, as they dropped both ends of a Saturday double-header in very different but similarly frustrating fashion.
In game one, the Panthers struggled in all phases of the game en route to a 6-0 loss. Wesleyan starter Brett Yasuri dominated the game, striking out two and walking only one in a complete-game shutout of Middlebury. The Cardinals scored methodically, adding two runs apiece in the second, fourth, and seventh innings, and were helped at times by Panther fielding errors, which might have been the deciding factors in the game were Middlebury able to muster any runs of their own. Roeder, Thomas Driscoll ’13, and Alex Kelly ’14 were the only Middlebury batsmen to muster hits in the game, while Michael Joseph ’13 went seven tough innings and took the complete game loss, his second on the year.
The second game of the double-feature was much more interesting, but equally demoralizing for the Panthers, as they squandered a 10-6 lead in the ninth inning to allow Wesleyan to take the game 11-10. The game started as though it would be another dominating Cardinal performance, as the visitors were able to plate four runs in their half of the first. However, this time Middlebury was able to strike back, scoring once in the bottom of the first and then six times in the home half of the second. This time around the Cardinals were helping the Panthers, as Middlebury used two errors and a walk along with a Roeder two-run single for their scoring opportunities. Middlebury added two more in the fourth and another in the sixth while allowing Wesleyan to score twice more in the middle innings to take a 10-6 lead going into the ninth inning. That’s when things went downhill quicker than a Dirk van Duym ’12 fastball.
Starter John Wiet ’13, who had settled down after the rough first inning, started the inning for Middlebury, looking to post the complete-game victory. However, after he allowed three consecutive singles, he was pulled in favor of Scooter Scott ’11. Scott struck out the first batter he faced, but allowed a single to the next, making the score 10-7 and keeping the bases loaded with only one out. Then, the Panthers were unable to turn a game-ending double play, committing an error and allowing the Cardinals to cut the lead to 10-8. Popkowski then took over on the mound, looking to record the save and end the game, but fared no better than Scott. The next Wesleyan batter struck a two-RBI single, and a fielder’s choice gave the Cardinals the late-game lead. Middlebury was unable to rally the next inning, and Wesleyan walked away with a series that they very well might have lost if not for some crucial Panther mistakes.
Middlebury will look to improve their NESCAC-record this weekend against perennial conference cellar-dweller Hamilton. If the Panthers can follow the softball team’s lead and sweep the Continentals, they still have a decent shot of making the postseason this year.
Baseball weathers rough Saturday
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