Softball goes one up, two down against Lord Jeffs

Author: Elissa Goeke

The Middlebury softball team faced a rollercoaster of highs and lows this past weekend against Amherst. Ending the three-game series with a win and two losses leaves the Panthers with a 13-13 record for the season. While mid-week losses last week against Union did not affect conference standings, they gave the team an incentive to fight even harder on the weekend against Amherst for NESCAC play. The Lord Jeffs remain ranked first in the NESCAC West Division, while Middlebury takes the fourth seed after the weekend's results.

The weekend began with a tough loss on Friday evening as the game ended in five innings with a score of 16-1 in Amherst's favor. The Jeffs had managed to put six runs on the scoreboard by the third inning before Middlebury was able to get a run. Senior Co-Captain Amelia Magistrali '09 hit a ball down the line to advance Nellie Wood '10 from second base for an RBI single as the Panthers struggled to remain afloat before the game was halfway over. Amherst pitcher Alex Chang-Graham proved to be a strong hurdle for the Panthers to overcome, entering the game with a strong 12-1 record and 1.29 ERA. Though Ali McAnaney '11 pitched most of the game for Middlebury, she was relieved by Ashley Higgins '12 in the fifth inning - by which point a loss was all but certain. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the Amherst hitters remained strong no matter who was pitching. Nevertheless, highlights from the game included Magistrali's 1-3 record for the day with an RBI and Emily Burbridge's '11 double - a feat that reflected the skill that earned her NESCAC Player of the Week for April 13, 2009.

Saturday proved to be a new day as the team saw a drastic turnaround, beating Amherst 12-8 in the first game. The outcome of the match was uncertain at the start, with both teams remaining scoreless for the first four innings until Amherst broke through with three runs in the fourth. The Lord Jeffs continued to raise the bar, adding three more runs in the fifth inning to make the score 0-6. The bottom of the fifth proved successful for the Panthers, however, as the women earned six runs on four hits during their time at bat, including another Burbridge double.

Middlebury exploded with six more runs in the sixth inning making the score 12-6. Scoring this inning was led by Megan Margel '11, and strong efforts were contributed by Burbridge, Geena Constantin '11, and Wood. By the seventh inning Amherst had cut the score to 12-8, but the Panthers held on for the win with a season-high score.

Later that day, after recuperating from the earlier loss, Amherst came back to take game two 3-1.

The Lord Jeffs once again broke the scoreless record in the fourth inning with a run, which Middlebury matched when Leslie Crawford '11 brought Kira Gordon '12 in for a run with a double down the left field line. Amherst fired back with two runs in the seventh inning, bringing the score to 3-1, where it would stay for the remainder of the game.

Although the Middlebury squad did not come out on top for the series, the Panthers certainly proved their ability to play with top squads such as Amherst this weekend. The final six non-conference games should provide a chance for the team to showcase its talent and scrappy play as of late.