Middlebury 8, Bates 4
at Lewiston, Maine

MIDDLEBURY FIGHTS OFF RAIN TO DEFEAT BATES, 8-4

LEWISTON, Maine Ð The Middlebury College Panthers (10-10-1, 5-3 NESCAC) fended off the weather and the host Bates College Bobcats (1-14, 0-6) to return to the .500 mark with an 8-4 win.

Middlebury scored three runs in the first inning off junior lefty Kevin Walsh (Wakefield, Mass.) despite not hitting a ball out of the infield. Meanwhile, Panther sophomore Tyler Conrad (Lunenberg, Mass.) held the Bates bats at bay over the first five innings, allowing just one past to second base. Conrad went the distance on the day, allowing four runs (three earned) on nine hits and four walks while striking ot nine.

Middlebury tacked on three more runs in the fourth inning thanks to a bases-loaded, two-out single by rookie DH John Prescott (Sierra madre, Calif.) that drove home two runs. Bates got some of the runs back in the sixth, including a two-run double by senior DH and co-captain Drew Blicharz (Rutland, Vt.). Bates tacked on another run in the sixth and one in the seventh on wild pitches/passed balls, but it wasn't enough to even the score.

The game, originally scheduled to be a nine-inning contest, was changed to a doubleheader because of the impending rain that eventually washed out the nightcap. Click Here for Full Box Score