May 12, 2024

Middlebury tops Tufts for program’s third NESCAC title

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Middle bury atheltics photo by Kayla Schubert

 

The Middlebury baseball team topped Tufts in today's NESCAC Championship to claim the program's third conference title and second in the last three seasons. The Panthers dropped the opening contest 7-4 but secured a 9-2 victory in the winner-take-all second contest. Middlebury receives the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament which begins next week.

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS

  • The Jumbos struck for a run in the first inning. Patrick Solomon led off with an infield single and moved to third on a failed pickoff attempt. He raced home when Henry Fleckner lifted a sacrifice fly to left field for the 1-0 edge.
  • Tufts increased its advantage to 2-0 in the second when Jesse McCullough singled and later scored on a two-out hit by Ozzie Fleischer.
  • Middlebury tied the contest an inning later on back-to-back RBI singles from Mitchell Schroeder and Baker Angstman to plate Beau Root who doubled and Kyle McCausland who drew a walk.
  • Fleckner gave Tufts a 3-2 lead in the fifth with a leadoff home run that just cleared the fence in left field.
  • The Panthers battled back to even the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the frame. Chris Borter ripped a one-out double down the left-field line and scurried home on a single from Schroeder.
  • Tufts took a one-run lead in the sixth on an RBI groundout from Solomon.
  • Middlebury packed the bases again in the home half of the stanza. David Byrne just missed a homer off the wall in left center that resulted in a double, while Root and McCausland each walked. Jumbo reliever Connor Podeszwa got out of the jam with a strikeout to maintain the 4-3 score.
  • Fleischer gave Tufts a 5-3 advantage in the eighth, reaching on a Panther fielding miscue to bring in pinch runner Johnny Briody. The Jumbos loaded the bases later in the inning, but reliever Charlie Kutz induced a groundout to keep it a two-run contest.
  • Tufts had runners on second and third with nobody out in the ninth on singles from Malachi Pena and McCullough before the pair moved up a base on a wild pitch. After a groundout and strikeout, John Fritz looped a two-run double just inside the right-field line for a 7-3 lead.
  • McCausland blasted his 10th homer of the season over the left-center field fence in the bottom of the ninth, but the Jumbos held on for the 7-4 victory.

GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS

  • Middlebury scored first during its initial at-bat. McCausland reached on a fielder's choice, moved to second on a passed ball and raced home on a single to right center from Andrew Ashley for a 1-0 advantage.
  • The visitors loaded the bases with one out in the fourth when Schroeder was hit by a pitch, Ashley singled and Angstman walked. Sammy Smith followed with a sacrifice fly to deep center field to push Ashley across home plate for a 2-0 lead.
  • Root led off the fifth with a laser-like homer to right for a 3-0 advantage. Borter was hit by a pitch and Schroeder walked before Ashley roped a two-run double into the left center field gap for a 5-0 edge.
  • Later in the inning, Smith made it a 7-0 contest with a two-run base knock to right center, followed by a run-scoring hit to center by Byrne for an 8-0 edge.
    McCausland brought the score to 9-0 in the sixth, ripping his team-best 11th homer of the season to right center.
  • Tufts plated two runs in the bottom of the eighth. Fleischer worked a walk and came around to score on a two-RBI homer by Malcom Whitfield. That was as close as the Jumbos would get, as Panther reliever Gavin Gattuso recorded the final three outs in the ninth to secure the conference crown.

NOTES

  • In game two, Emmet George pitched seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits and walking one batter. The seven innings were a career best for George.
  • McCausland set a pair of career program records on Sunday. He became the leader in both RBI (134) and homers (27).
  • With two runs scored today, Root has now tallied 50 this season, tying him for first in the program's single season record books.
  • The programs played for the 50th and 51st times in a series in which the Jumbos hold a 33-18 advantage.
  • Middlebury and Tufts squared off for the 16th and 17th times in the NESCAC Tournament with the Jumbos holding a narrow 9-8 advantage.
  • The Panthers have appeared in seven NESCAC Tournaments and the program played in the championship game for the sixth time.

Middlebury will await its opponent when the NCAA Tournament selection show takes place on Monday at 12:00 p.m.