AMHERST, Mass. – A ninth-inning rally lifted Middlebury College to a 7-6 win over the Amherst College baseball team in NESCAC action on Friday afternoon at Memorial Field.

With both teams entering the final weekend of the regular season involved in a four-way tie at the top of the NESCAC West Division, the reigning NESCAC champion Panthers improved to 22-8 overall and 6-4 in conference play, while the Mammoths fell to 18-11-1 and 5-5 in the NESCAC.

The Mammoths and Panthers play two tomorrow at Memorial Field with the start of the doubleheader moved to 11 a.m. due to expected inclement weather later in the day.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* The Panthers scored first in the top of the second inning. Sophomore outfielder Kyle McCausland led off the inning with a double and took third on a wild pitch. Senior designated hitter Mitchell Schroeder followed with a single through the left side to drive in McCausland with the first run of the game.

* The Mammoths answered with four runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead. Senior outfielder Jack Dove led off the inning by reaching base on a strike-three wild pitch, hustling down the line as the pitch was in the dirt and bounced off the catcher's chest. Senior outfielder Jackson Reydel followed by chopping a slow roller down the third base line that looked like it may roll foul, but came to a stop in fair territory as the Panthers stood and watched. With two runners aboard, junior third baseman Javier Irizarry hit a double to the left field corner to score Dove and Reydel. After sophomore outfielder Jack Boyle walked, sophomore designated hitter Jack Sampedro drove a double down the left field line to score Irizarry and Boyle.

* The Panthers took a 5-4 lead in the top of the fifth when senior outfielder Alec Ritch hit a grand slam over the center field fence.

* The Mammoths quickly evened the score in the bottom of the fifth. After Sampedro drew a walk to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Junior first baseman Luke Padian drove Sampedro in with a single to right field.

* Another leadoff baserunner scored to give the Mammoths the lead in the bottom of the sixth. First-year second baseman Tyler McCord opened the inning with a base hit to right field and Boyle drove him in with a single up the middle to give Amherst a 6-5 lead.

* The Panthers rallied to take the lead in the top of the ninth. Junior outfielder Sammy Smith reached first with a bunt, then took advantage of a failed pickoff attempt to take second and stole third. Ritch drove in Smith to tie the game and three batters later, a double from McCausland plated the go-ahead run for Middlebury.

* Sampedro and sophomore shortstop Jack McDermott both walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth, but senior pitcher Andrew Gatland retired the next three batters to earn the save and seal the victory for the Panthers.

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Sampedro went 1-for-2 at the plate with a double and drew three walks to boost his on-base percentage this season to .528, leading the NESCAC in that category. Reydel was the only Mammoth with multiple hits, going 2-for-5.

* The Mammoths saw strong pitching performances from their middle relievers as first-year Naveen Narayanan pitched 2.1 scoreless innings and junior Alan Dai pitched the eighth inning without allowing a hit.

* Senior Jackson Atwood earned the win for Middlebury after pitching a 1-2-3 eighth inning and Gatland did not allow a hit in the ninth to earn the save.