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(05/07/14 2:49pm)
Middlebury’s run for the NESCAC softball championship fell just a little bit short last weekend. The Panthers fell to the nation’s top-ranked team, Tufts, in their first game of the conference tournament on Friday, May 2, and then knocked Bowdoin out of the double elimination tournament on Saturday, May 3.
Middlebury could not top Williams in the semifinal round, with the Ephs defeating the Panthers 8-5 in order to advance to the next round of the tournament.
In the tourney opener on Friday, May 3, the Panthers faced Tufts and the 2013 NESCAC Pitcher of the Year, Allyson Fournier, who blanked the Panthers and allowed just one hit.
Tufts got one on the board in the first inning, but the Panthers kept a close game until the fourth, when Tufts pounded out five to make it a 6-0 game. The Panthers were unable to answer, and Tufts snuck in one more run in the sixth to make the final score 7-0.
Despite the tough loss and looming risk of elimination, Middlebury bounced back on Saturday morning, pulling out a 2-0 win to knock Bowdoin out of the tournament and put themselves back in the fight for the championship. LizzieMorris ’14 proved key for the Panthers, as she struck out a whopping 12 Bowdoin batters over the course of the game.
The game was scoreless until the fifth inning when Carlyn Vachow ’16 and Kelsey Martel ’15 each scored. Both teams looked poised to score some more, but nobody else managed to make it across home plate.
The Panthers battled it out with Williams later that day, but heartbreak ensued as they were unable to defeat the Ephs. The Ephs started the game out with a bang, scoring three in the first. Hye-Jin Kim ’17 came out roaring though, and she put one on the board for Middlebury in the second and then again in the third.
Williams plated another four in the fourth, securing a 7-2 lead. The Panthers closed the gap though, adding three runs in the fifth. Emma Hamilton ’17 scored off of captain Emily Kraytenberg’s ’14 sacrifice fly, and then Kim smashed a two-run single to score Kimber Sable ’14 and Christina Bicks ’15 to make it a 7-5 game, putting the Panthers hot on the Ephs’ heels.
The Ephs managed to get one more run in the sixth though, and the Panthers were unable to answer. With the win over Middlebury, Williams advanced to the NESCAC championship round where they were defeated by Tufts 10-2. It is the third consecutive conference title for the Jumbos.
Both Tufts and Williams will represent the NESCAC in the upcoming NCAA tournament, with the Jumbos earning the conference’s automatic berth by virtue of their win in the NESCAC tournament and the Ephs being awarded an at-large bid to the 62-team field.
With the loss, Middlebury finishes the season with an overall record of 19-16, including an 8-4 mark in conference play. The Panthers, who were regular-reason runners-up in the NESCAC’s western division, would have likely needed to win the conference tournament in order to gain a berth in NCAAs. The Panthers have not participated in the national tournament since 2011.
The end of the season means that the collegiate softball careers of the team’s six seniors have also drawn to a close. Sable, Alex Scibetta ’14, Emily Smith ’14, Alexa Lesenskyj ’14, Kraytenberg and Morris have taken the team into the NESCAC postseason each of the past four seasons, including a trip to NCAAs during their first year.
In addition to the team’s achievements during their time at Middlebury, the six seniors have garnered several individual accolades during their careers. Morris has earned All-NESCAC honors during each of her first three years on the squad and will merit consideration for the conference’s Pitcher of the Year award this year, while Kraytenberg received a second-team All-NESCAC nod after her sophomore season.
(04/30/14 2:51pm)
The Middlebury softball team dropped two games in their three-game set against Williams last weekend, but nevertheless the team earned the second seed in the West for the double-elimination NESCAC tournament that will be held at Williams this weekend, and will play Tufts in their post-season opener.
Williams won the first game of the series last Friday, April 25, by a score of 4-3. The Panthers got one on the board in the first when Jackie Stern ’16 scored from second off a single from Hye-Jin Kim ’17. The Ephs responded quickly and with force though, and the first inning ended with Williams up 4-1. Kimber Sable ’14 smacked a two-run double that sent Carlyn Vachow ’16 and Alex Scibetta ’14 in to home plate, setting the Panthers close on the Ephs heels.
Williams kept Middlebury at bay however, striking out 10 consecutive Panthers before Emily Kraytenberg ’14 managed to get on base in the sixth. Sarah Freyre ’17 and Kelsey Martel ’15 soon followed, but the Panthers were not able to get another run in, leaving the final score 4-3.
The teams started the second game of the series on Friday, but it was suspended after three innings with the Ephs up 3-2.
The series resumed Saturday, and the teams split the two games. Williams took the first 5-4, but Middlebury came roaring back, pounding the Ephs 12-2 in the nightcap.
Vachow spurred the scoring during the Friday portion of the suspended game when she fired one to center, sending first Kim and then herself in for a two-run homer in the second. Williams soon answered though, sneaking in three runs in the third to lead 3-2.
Come Saturday, the Ephs pushed on ahead, adding another two in the fourth. It looked like the Panthers might make a come back when Kat Maehr ’16 started off the seventh with a pinch-hit walk and Siobhan O’Sullivan ’17 pinch-ran for her. Christina Bicks ’15 struck a two-run hit to make it a one-run game, but the Ephs eked out the win.
The Panthers were determined to not to let Williams sweep the series though, and they thumped the Ephs in the final game of the day, breaking Williams’ nine-game winning streak. Sable and Kraytenberg both scored in the first, but the third inning was when Sable really hit her stride — she smashed a grand slam that put Middlebury up 8-0.
The Panthers were not yet done thrashing the Ephs — they added another four in the fifth to make it a 12-0 game. Williams managed to get two in the bottom of the fifth, but they were not able to close their yawning deficit, and the game ended after five innings.
The Panthers were happy to have come back in the last game and are looking forward to the tournament this weekend.
“Throughout the year we have known that we have the potential to be a very good hitting team, and our goal for this past weekend was to get our bats going,” Sable said. “Especially in the last game, we achieved this goal and were successful in stringing hits together up and down the lineup to push runs across the plate. This is something that we must continue into next weekend at the NESCAC tournament in order to be successful.”
The Panthers face Tufts on Friday, May 2 at Williams to open the NESCAC tournament.
(04/24/14 3:35am)
Not only did Lizzie Morris ’14 help lead her team to victory over NESCAC rival Hamilton in last weekend’s three-game series, but she also reached 309 career strikeouts, a new all-time school record. The Panthers, now 7-2 in conference, take on Williams in a three-game series this weekend, the winner of which will nab the top seed and act as host for the NESCAC tournament May 2-4.
Middlebury won the first game of the series against Hamilton 2-0 last Friday afternoon at Middlebury. The Panthers scored in the second when Kelsey Martel ’15 smacked one to centerfield, sending Sarah Freyre ’17 in to home plate. The lead was by no means secure though, and Hamilton looked poised to strike in the fourth.
Bases were loaded after two batters were hit, but the Panthers managed to keep the Continentals off the board.
Martel was hit on the ankle in the fifth, and Alex Scibetta ’14 sent her to second with a sacrifice hit. She made it to third off a hit by Christina Bicks ’15, and finally made her way home on a wild pitch.
The Continentals had a few chances to tie the game, but the Panthers proved victorious, thanks in large part to Morris, who pitched a complete-game, four-hit shutout.
Hamilton was back on Saturday for a doubleheader, as both teams took a game 1-0. Neve Stearns ’16 proved key in the first game as she delivered her first complete-game shutout. Like Morris the day before, she only allowed four hits.
“I went into the game really just wanting to win each at bat, take it one by one,” Stearns said. “The team support is the most important. I really just trust my defense to make the plays and trust my offense to get the runs.”
Both teams were eager to score, and both teams had many close calls. The game remained scoreless until the fifth though, when Bicks once again sent Martel home to score.
The second game was a landmark for Morris, as she reached 300 strikeouts by the end of just the first inning. Over the course of the game she struck out 10 batters and only allowed five hits. She now holds the school record with 309 strikeouts.
“I didn’t realize quite how close I was, because I try not to look at stats while I’m in season because it can be nerve-racking and distracting,” Morris said.
Despite her accomplishment, the Panthers were not able to put one on the board and Hamilton managed to eke out a run in the fourth inning. Middlebury was close on their heels, and it looked like Carlyn Vachow ’16 might be able to tie the game up in the seventh, but she ended up stranded on second.
Despite being unable to sweep the Continentals, the weekend was a success for the Panthers, and they are already preparing for their games against Williams. According to Stearns, Williams is “the team to beat.”
“We need to stay focused on how we can get better every day,” Morris said. “We need to be at our best so we can win the series and host the NESCAC tournament here in Middlebury.”