AMHERST, MA – Amherst College and Middlebury College split a NESCAC West baseball doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Memorial Field, with the Panthers earning an 8-3 win in the opener before the host Lord Jeffs piled on 18 hits during a 12-2 victory in the nightcap. 

Middlebury's Will Baine and Zach Roeder had three hits apiece and combined for three RBIs to lead the charge in the opener, with Donald McKillop adding a two-hit, two-RBI performance. Michael Joseph earned the complete-game victory to improve to 1-1, allowing three runs on only four hits and three walks to go with seven strikeouts. 

McKillop belted a two-run homer in the top of the first and the Panthers never relinquished their lead, as they scored in each of the first four innings and carried a 6-3 lead into the fifth. Roeder delivered a solo shot in the sixth and the visitors chalked up one more in the seventh, while Joseph retired eight of the last 11 batters he faced. 

Fred Shepard '14 (Amherst, MA) took the loss to drop to 2-2 on the season, while Nolan Stewart '13 (New Canaan, CT) highlighted the Amherst offense by going 2-for-3 with a two-RBI double in the fourth inning. Shepard allowed five runs on six hits in 2.2 innings, walking four and striking out one. Dylan Driscoll '14 (Mount Airy, MD) pitched the final 4.1 innings for the Jeffs, surrendering three runs on eight hits without recording a walk or a strikeout. 

Middlebury began the nightcap by taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first and would hold a 2-1 advantage heading into the bottom of the fifth, but the rest of the game belonged to the Lord Jeffs. Led by a two-run homer from Stewart, Amherst scored four runs in the fifth, two in the sixth, four in the seventh and one in the eighth. 

The second game was broken open in the bottom of the fifth when a costly fielding error led to four unearned Amherst runs. Back-to-back doubles by Taiki Kasuga '14 (New York, NY) and Kevin Heller '12 (Brooklyn, NY) were followed by an RBI-single up the middle from Mike Samela '12 (Westport, CT), as the Jeffs suddenly held a 5-2 lead. An RBI-triple by Bob Cook '13 (Winnetka, IL) and Stewart's first long ball of the year led the charge the rest of the way, with an RBI-single from Thomas Wheeler '12 (Minnetonka, MN) capping off the scoring in the eighth. 

Ryan Healy '11 (Westport, CT) earned the win to improve to 2-0, allowing only two runs—one earned—on five hits in six innings of work. Hayden Metz '12 (Ridgefield, CT) allowed one hit in two innings, while Cam Windham '14 (Washington, DC) closed it out with an inning of no-hit relief. 

Seven players had multiple hits for the Lord Jeffs, but it was Alex Hero '14 (New York, NY) who led the way by going 3-for-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Stewart, Wheeler, Kasuga and Brian Merrigan '11 (Holbrook, MA) had two RBIs apiece in the nightcap. 

John Wiet (1-2) picked up the tough loss for the Panthers, as he struck out six, did not walk a batter and allowed only two earned runs in the first 5.2 innings. Tyler Buckingham surrendered four runs on five hits in one inning of relief, while Scooter Scott gave up one run in 1.1 innings. 

The Lord Jeffs and Panthers will both return to action Tuesday, Apr. 12, with Amherst traveling to take on Castleton State and Middlebury hitting the road to face Skidmore.

GAME 1 BOX SCORE

GAME 2 BOX SCORE