How did the Panthers do this past weekend?

For the majority of Middlebury’s spring sports teams, the seasons are going well. Most of the teams are shifting away from the out of conference portions of their schedules and beginning to play crucial games against their NESCAC rivals. This past weekend, Middlebury played a number of highly contested matches against regional foes.

Baseball (10–4):

The baseball team traveled south this weekend to play Bowdoin (8–5) at Monan Park in Boston, a neutral location. Despite the warmer weather in Boston, Middlebury’s bats turned out to be cold in their doubleheader. In the first game, the team only scored one run courtesy of an RBI base hit by John Collins ’24, but that run was enough to defeat Bowdoin 1–0. Alex Price ’23 threw a complete game shutout and struck out 11 Bowdoin Polar Bears to lead the Panthers to victory and improve his personal win-loss record to 3–0. In the second game, there was almost no offense from the Panthers as Bowdoin held Middlebury scoreless, winning 4–0.

Softball (10–5):

The softball team also played Bowdoin (10–11) this past weekend in a doubleheader against the Polar Bears on Sunday. In the first game, the team won 3–2, propelled by impressive pitching by Samantha Hausman ’25. Hausman pitched five innings out of the bullpen, allowing only three hits and one run. The game was tied 1–1 until the fifth inning when Middlebury scored two runs to take the lead for good. In the second game of the doubleheader, Middlebury did not fare as well at all, ultimately losing 9–1. The team struggled on defense, making four errors in only just five innings of play.

Women’s Lacrosse (10–0):

The No. 1 women’s lacrosse team continued their dominant season with a 13–6 win over Hamilton (4–6). Hope Shue ’25, Sara Ellinghaus ’24, Jane Earley ’23, Caroline Messer ’26 and Maggie Coughlin ’24 each had a pair of goals in the game. Earley added to her impressive total of 80 goals scored already this season. That total leads the NESCAC by a significant margin; the next highest total is 11 goals. Earley has been impressive this year, but a dominant, well-rounded and deep roster is the reason why the women’s lacrosse team has been so successful thus far this season.

Men’s Lacrosse (7–1):

The men’s lacrosse team lost 19–15 to No. 2 Tufts (9–0) this past Saturday. This was the team’s first loss of the season, and Tufts was one of the toughest opponents the team has played so far this year. The team showed resilience and toughness in spite of their loss — Tufts took a 14–4 lead in the first half of the game, but a late scoring rally from the Panthers allowed them to make the game competitive at 19–15. However, there was not enough time for Middlebury to surpass Tufts. William Ryan ’23 scored four goals, and Will Zink ’23 scored three in the game.

Men’s Tennis (8–2):

The No. 5 men's tennis team dominated Connecticut College (4–6) this past Saturday, beating them 9–0. The team collectively dropped just one set the entire day, and Robby Ward ’24 only dropped two games during his match. The team has been on fire lately, winning their past four contests. The team also continued their historical dominance against Connecticut College — in the 12 matchups in men’s tennis between the two schools, Middlebury has won all of them.

Women’s Tennis (8–1):

The No. 6 women’s tennis team had a tough matchup this weekend against No. 9 Emory, but that did not stop the Panthers from scoring an impressive 7–2 victory. So far this season, the team has fared extraordinarily well against other top teams in the country. Nathalie van der Reis ’25 and Sahana Raman ’25 were stars in the match, each helping to score two points for Middlebury thanks to victories in their respective singles matches and in their doubles match. The Panthers are 4–1 against other teams ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s national poll.