MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury College's John Collins hit two home runs and drove in four in the Panthers' 8-6 NESCAC West Division win against the Hamilton College Continentals at Middlebury's Forbes Field on Friday.
Season Update
- Hamilton moved to 13-9 overall and 4-2 in the division.
- Middlebury (15-6, 2-2 NESCAC West) is receiving votes in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 poll.
How It Happened
- Middlebury took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on Collins' two-out solo homer to center field.
- Collins made it 3-0 in the third with a two-run blast to center, again with two outs.
- Hamilton put a run on the board in the fifth. Shane Dux '24 was hit by a pitch leading off the inning, found third base on a Michael Tallarida '26 single to right, and scored on a fielder's choice off the bat of Taylor Kaufman '26.
- Middlebury quickly responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning on a triple and an infield fielding error.
- The Continentals took a 5-4 lead in a hot sixth inning as they scored four runs with two outs on just one hit. Lucas Herman '26 and Ethan Harrast '23 drew back-to-back walks and Jack Griffin '24 loaded the bases after being hit by a pitch. Tallarida plated Herman with another walk and Kaufman cleared the bases with a double to left field.
- The Panthers countered with three runs in the seventh – all scored with two outs -- for a 7-5 advantage. Middlebury had two hits, two walks and two hit batsmen.
- The hosts added one more run in the eighth on a triple and a single. The Panthers scored all eight runs with two outs.
- Hamilton rallied for a run in the final frame. Phil Bernstein '23 led off with a walk and advanced to second on a Greg Kopp '25 single. Herman loaded the bases with a walk and Bernstein scored on a fielder's choice by Harrast. The Continentals left the tying run on base in scoring position.
Notes
- Bernstein led the Hamilton offense with two singles and two walks. He's 12th in the NESCAC with a .390 batting average and .490 on-base percentage, tied for third with 32 hits and tied for sixth with 16 walks.
- Dux singled and is hitting .335 for his career with the Continentals.
- Kaufman tallied his fifth double and a season-high four runs batted in.
- Tallarida drove in his 18th run this season.
- Harrast, who walked twice, added his eighth RBI.
- Herman drew a team-best three walks.
- Hamilton was issued nine walks and had two hit batsmen.
- Aidan Regan '24 collected four strikeouts in 6.2 innings. Regan had allowed just four runs going into the seventh.
- Collins added a single and finished with three hits for the Panthers.
- Sammy Smith tallied three hits including a double and a triple, while Andrew Gough singled and tripled.
- Henry Gustavson earned his first win of the season with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
- Alex Price pitched the ninth and picked up his first save.
Next Game
The Continentals and Panthers meet for a doubleheader back in Middlebury on Saturday, April 15. The first pitch of Game 1 is scheduled for noon.