The Hamilton College Continentals won two out of three NESCAC West Division games against the Middlebury College Panthers in a rare tripleheader at Hamilton's Loop Road Athletic Complex on a picture-perfect Saturday.

The Continentals (6-5, 6-5 NESCAC West) rallied for a 5-3 victory in the second game and held on to edge Middlebury 6-5 in the nightcap. The Panthers took the opener, 8-5.

Hamilton's Kiana Arcayena '22 came up with numerous clutch hits and finished with six runs batted in. Claire O'Brien '21 and Natalie Beebe '24 led the Continentals' pitching effort.

Game 2

In what may have been her last game at home, O'Brien made it one to remember. She allowed two earned runs on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts in seven innings.

O'Brien's classmate Anna Rasmussen '21 went 3-for-3 and Shelby McVey '22 added a pair of singles. Rasmussen is hitting .465 and leads the team with 20 hits and 14 RBI. McVey owns a .447 batting average as five Hamilton players are hitting over .400.

Middlebury (4-7, 3-6) jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the middle of the second inning. The Continentals scored single runs in the bottom of the second and the third and took the lead with a three-run fifth.
Rasmussen, who was named the NESCAC Player of the Week on Monday, led off the second with a single up the middle. She scored on a two-out base hit up the middle by Emma Tomlins '23.

In the third, left-hand hitting speedster Katlynn McGivney '23 led off with a single to shortstop and stole second base. McGivney went to third on a single to right field by McVey and scored when Arcayena reached on a fielder's choice.

Hamilton scored three runs in the fifth on five hits and two errors. Rasmussen's single up the middle drove in the tying run and a single to center by Mikayla Worzel '23 drove in the go-ahead run. Rasmussen made it 5-3 after she scored on a fielding error by the center fielder.

O'Brien took care of the rest. She set down nine straight batters in the second through the fourth inning and retired the side in order in the sixth. In the seventh with one out and the tying run at the plate, Vicky Dunn '22 snagged a line drive and threw to Alessandra Priante '24 to catch the runner off second base and complete the game-ending double play.

Game 3

Arcayena doubled twice and drove in three runs for the Continentals. Dunn had two hits and stole two bases, and Rasmussen, Tomlins and Samantha Smith '23 chipped in two singles each.

Kaitlyn Fudge '23 improved to 3-1 as she pitched the first 4.2 innings. Beebe helped Fudge escape from a jam in the fifth and earned her first career save with 2.1 scoreless innings.

This game was supposed to be the Panthers' home contest so Hamilton batted first. The Continentals grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Arcayena drew a two-out walk, went to second on Rasmussen's single through the left side, and scored on Smith's single to right center.

Middlebury tied the score in its half of the inning, but the Continentals went back in front on three more runs with two outs in the second. Tomlins was on first base with two away before Dunn singled to center. Tomlins scored on a base hit up the middle by McVey and Arcayena's double to right center brought in McVey and Dunn.

Hamilton increased its advantage to 5-1 in the third. Smith led off with a single to center and later scored on Tomlins' base hit to right center. The Panthers pulled within a run with three in the bottom of the third. Sophia Marlino plated two runs on a home run just to the left of the 220-foot sign in dead center.

The Continentals pushed their lead back to two runs by playing small ball in the fourth. Dunn led off with a base hit to center and stole second and third base. Arcayena plated Dunn with a sacrifice fly to center field. Middlebury clawed back to within a run at 6-5 in the bottom of the fifth.

Beebe set the Panthers down in order in the sixth but had some nervous moments in the seventh. She gave up a double and a walk before retiring the next two batters on popups in the infield. The next batter laced a rocket right at Tomlins at third base and she caught it to end the game and the series.

Game 1

Beebe and Dunn registered two hits apiece in the opener. Beebe leads the team with a .500 batting average (14-for-28) and Dunn has eight stolen bases.

Beebe took the loss in the circle but struck out a season-high 12 and didn't walk a batter. It was the most strikeouts by a Hamilton pitcher since O'Brien fanned 12 on March 18, 2019.

Middlebury jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the first. The Continentals cut their deficit in half in the second inning on a hit and two walks. Dunn's bases-loaded groundout to second base scored Smith and made it 2-1.

The Panthers took control with five runs on four hits and a dropped fly ball in the top of the fourth. Hamilton responded with a three-run fifth inning and trailed 7-4. Dunn led off with a single up the middle, stole second and scored on an infield throwing error. Arcayena eventually came up with runners on second and third and drove them in on a single to left field.

Middlebury went back up by four on an unearned run in the top of the sixth. The Continentals rounded out the scoring with a run in the bottom of the inning. Dunn bunted for a hit and stole second base with one out. With two outs McVey blasted a fly ball to deep right center field that went for a double and drove in Dunn. Hamilton was retired in order in the bottom of the seventh inning.