Hamilton College's Gavin Schaefer-Hood '22 tossed his first shutout with the Continentals and Hamilton split a NESCAC West Division doubleheader with the Middlebury College Panthers at Middlebury's Forbes Field on Saturday afternoon.

The Continentals (4-7, 4-7 NESCAC West) cruised to an 11-0 win in the opener before they were edged 7-6 by the Panthers in the nightcap. Middlebury's victory was its first this spring as the Panthers moved to 1-5 overall and in the NESCAC West.

Schaefer-Hood's shutout is the first by a Hamilton pitcher since Brian Lawson '21 blanked SUNY Polytechnic in an 8-0 win on April 7, 2018. Schaefer-Hood moved into third place on the Continentals' all-time list with his 14th career victory.

Game 1

Schaefer-Hood (2-2) allowed three singles and a pair of walks while striking out seven in seven innings. He allowed only two runners to reach second base and his earned run average improved to 3.43.

Brady Slinger '22 helped lead the 14-hit offensive attack with a double, single and three runs batted in. Slinger leads the team with three doubles and is hitting .405 (15-for-37). Jay Schlaefer '23 chipped in two hits and three RBI out of the ninth spot in the lineup. Shane Dux '24 singled twice and walked twice, Phil Bernstein '23 singled and doubled, and Jackson Sattinger '24 added two hits.

Hamilton jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning on four hits, two walks and an error. Bernstein led off with a double to left field and Ethan Harrast '23 walked. Slinger loaded the bases when the pitcher committed an error on his sacrifice bunt attempt. Matt McGoey '21 forced in the first run by drawing a walk and Dux followed with a two-run single to left. Sattinger loaded the bases again on a base hit to left center, and Schlaefer's two-out single to left drove in Dux and McGoey.

The Continentals took a commanding lead in the top of the third with six runs on four hits and five walks. Dux led off the inning with a single to right field and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Schlaefer's single through the left side plated Jacob Han '21, who had walked, with the seventh run. A walk to Bernstein loaded the bases and Slinger cleared them with a two-out double to left. Han – batting for the second time in the inning – drove in Slinger with a single to right for the 11-0 advantage.

Game 2

Middlebury walked off with a win in the bottom of the seventh inning when Evan Hunter led off with a homer to left. The Panthers never trailed as they scored two runs in the first inning and added four in the fourth. Hamilton briefly tied the score with single runs in the third and fourth innings, and again with a four-run sixth.

Harrast helped lead the Continentals offense with a single and his team-high third triple with two runs batted in. Sattinger singled and doubled and Bernstein went 2-for-3 with a walk. Bernstein is hitting .425 with an on-base percentage of .500.

Hamilton pulled within 2-1 in the top of the third. Jack Griffin '24 led off with a double down the right field line and later scored on Harrast's sacrifice fly. The Continentals drew even in the fourth. McGoey reached base on an infield error and was replaced by pinch-runner Jackson Johns '24. Sattinger's double to right center drove in Johns and tied the score at 2-2.

Hamilton tied things up again in the sixth by scoring four runs on four hits and a walk. Han led off with a bunt single and scored on a RBI groundout by Schaefer-Hood. After Dux singled up the middle, Schlaefer drove in another run on a groundout to the second baseman. Bernstein's two-out single to center scored Dux and Bernstein came around on Harrast's triple to left center. The Continentals were retired in order in the top of the seventh.