A great Saturday beats Good Friday

Author: Andrew Schlegel

The Middlebury baseball team was scheduled to host Wesleyan for three games at Forbes Field last weekend, but Wednesday's snowstorm forced the Panthers to take their white uniforms to Connecticut. Backed by stellar pitching outings from Justin Wright '08, Jack Britton '08 and Rob Palladino '09, the Panthers were able to take two of the three and come back to Middlebury with a 7-8 record.

During their first game of the three-game set, the Panthers dropped a heart-breaker in extra innings to the Cardinals. The game was tied at one until the 10th inning when the Cardinals broke out for four runs to earn the victory and give Wright (1-1) his first loss of the season.

Even in defeat, however, Wright pitched an impressive nine and one-third innings, allowing three hits and four earned runs as well as striking out four. Through six and a third, Wright had a perfect game going until he walked a batter. In that same inning, Wesleyan scored the game's first run on an Alex Mautone single to right field.

The Panthers soon tied the game with help from two Wesleyan errors in the eighth inning. Sam Timberg '07 was able to reach second base on the first error and scored the tying run on the second error.

Wright did not let up another run until the 10th inning when fatigue started to set in and he allowed two more hits which resulted in three earned runs.

Both Mark Shimrock '09 and Tri-Captain John Lanahan '08 had singles, but this was not enough hitting to earn the victory in Friday's game. Wesleyan's pitcher Louis Gabel contained the potent Panther power-hitters and Kyle Lee pitched the last two innings without giving up a single hit. On Friday, Middlebury's main offense was Wesleyan's three errors and five walks.

"We had a ton more base runners than Wesleyan and Justin threw a phenomenal game, we didn't get the breaks in the first game," said Tri-Captain Noah Walker '07. "It was great to get our offense going on Saturday after a frustrating Friday night."

Although the Panthers were not able to rally in the bottom of the 10th and overcome the 5-1 deficit, they more than made up for it in the 10th inning with their performances in the next two games.

In the middle game, the Panthers had another stellar pitching performance, this time from Britton. He threw five innings, allowing only one hit and striking out eight. The California native had more than his share of run support, as Middlebury won 17-1.

"Our hitters got it going Saturday and that is a good sign," said Coach Bob Smith. "We are in a good place right now and look forward to warmer weather in hopes to get even better."

Tom Sullivan '08 followed Britton and finished up the final two innings, making sure Britton kept the win.

Middlebury's onslaught of scoring was not only spurred by superb hitting, but also by the Cardinals' four errors and 10 walks. The game was wide open after a three-run third inning, a five-run fourth and a nine-run fifth.

Erich Enns '10 and Shimrock were the hot hitters of the game. Enns went two for four with two doubles and three runs batted in. Shimrock went two for four with two runs scored and three runs batted in.

In the rubber match, the Panthers' pitching was again impressive. Palladino and Christian Hansen '08 combined for a shutout, allowing only six hits and preventing the Cardinals from getting a runner past second base.

The Panthers backed up the stellar pitching outing with four runs. They scored solo runs in the first and third innings. In the fifth inning, they added another two runs to put away the Cardinals and earn the 4-0 shutout.

The three captains made sure the Panthers would secure the win with great hitting games from all three. Walker went three for four with two runs scored. Nick Lefeber '08 and Lanahan both had two hits as well.

"Our captains are doing a good job of keeping the guys focused on playing well," said Smith. "It shows from our success against Wesleyan."

So far, in the NESCAC, the Panthers have taken two from Colby and lost a three game series to Williams two to one. But after this weekend, the Panthers look as strong as any team in the league and ready to repeat their NCAA tournament appearance.

"I think we're heading in the right direction as a team and we're really getting young guys to step up," said Lanahan.