Middlebury Falls to Wellesley, Blanks D’Youville in Florida

Kati Daczkowski picked up three hits in the two games on Tuesday.

Middlebury split two games in Florida on Tuesday, falling to Wellesley 5-4, before posting a 2-0 shutout against D'Youville. The Panthers (6-2) conclude its southern trip Wednesday, facing 10th-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater at 9:00 a.m. and Loras at 11:30 a.m.

Wellesley (2-5) jumped out to an early lead in the opening game of the day, plating an unearned run in the bottom of the second inning. Gen Brittingham led off with a single and crossed home plate on an infield error for a 1-0 lead.

The Panthers quickly responded, tying the game in the next half inning on back-to-back doubles. Kati Daczkowski belted a one-out double to left field and scored on a two-base hit down the left-field line by Olivia Bravo.

The Blue reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the third, scoring a pair of runs to make it a 3-1 contest. Amanda Manning had an RBI double and later scored on a Middlebury miscue.

Middlebury got back to within a run at 3-2 in the fourth, when Ali Della Volpe raced home from third on a throwing error. An inning later, the Panthers scored twice on a two-run home run to left-center field by Melanie Mandell for their first lead of the game at 4-3.

Wellesley tied the game in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Jessica Budz and won the contest with one out in the seventh. Amanda Kim scored the deciding run for the Blue on a wild pitch.

Daczkowski went 3-3 for the Panthers with a double and two runs scored, while Mandell went 2-4 with a homer and two RBI. Emily Morris went the distance in the circle, allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits with five strikeouts.

Seven different players recorded a hit for Wellesley, with Manning collected a double and an RBI. Sydney Hopper earned the win with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief, while starter Madeline Bianchi yielded four runs (three earned) in 4.1 innings of work.

In the triumph over D'Youville (4-6), Middlebury scored the only run it would need in the first inning when Mandell doubled to left and scored on a two-base hit by Allison Quigley to center field.

The Panthers plated the game's other run in the bottom of the third, as Quigley got aboard with a one-out single and came around to score on a single by Emily Moore.

That was all Quigley needed on the circle, tossing 5.1 scoreless innings, while Morris retired all five batters she faced for the save. The win was Quigley's third of the season and the 33rd of her career, moving her into sole possession of second place on the program's all-time wins list. Quigley also went 2-2 at the plate with a run scored and one RBI. Moore's RBI single in the third extended her hitting streak to a season-opening eight games.

Brittaney Goodrich suffered the loss for the Spartans, throwing a complete game, while five different players collected hits at the plate.