SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College baseball team wrapped up the home portion of the 2017 season, dropping both games of a doubleheader to Middlebury on a cold and rainy Sunday afternoon. Skidmore fell 5-1 and 6-3 at Castle Diamond.
 
Skidmore record now stands at 10-22, while Middlebury improves to 16-13.
 
Prior to the contest, the Thoroughbreds honored its five seniors: outfielders Steven Gilbert and Josh Brown, infielders Daniel Dasgupta and Mat Marino, and pitcher Ben Murphy.
 
Skidmore struck first in both games. In game one, Shawn Klier sent the first pitch he saw in the second inning to left field, scoring Brown with a two-out RBI.  Middlebury responded with a run in the third, then took the lead for good with a pair of runs in the fourth and sixth innings. Skidmore had runners in scoring position in the sixth and seventh innings, but were unable to get the big hit to cut the deficit.
 
Murphy (1-2) pitched six innings in his final home start, allowing five runs on six hits, striking out a pair of batters. Tim Allen and Spencer Meyer combined to pitch a scoreless seventh in relief.
 
Skidmore outhit the Panthers in game one, 9-7. Gilbert and Potter each went 2-3 in the contest, and Dasgupta, Gilbert, Marino, Klier, and Shankar Mani also recorded a hit.
 
Colby Morris (3-3) pitched a complete game for Middlebury, allowing one earned run on nine hits, striking out four. Grant Elgarten led the Panthers with a 2-3 performance, driving in three runs.
 
In game two, smart base running gave Skidmore its first lead in the second. After beginning the game with a pair of singles, Klier struck out swinging, but the pitch was wild, so he got to first base safely with Brown scoring from third.
 
In the third, Middlebury took a 2-1 lead with a pair of runs, before Skidmore responded in the bottom of the frame. Hits by Strickland and Gilbert got the Thoroughbreds started, then Marino brought them both in with a one-out, RBI double to take the 3-2 lead.
 
Middlebury threatened to score in the fourth with runners on first and second. Justin Han hit a two-out single to Marino in left field, who tracked it and gunned down Panthers baserunner Spencer Tonies at home plate to end the inning.
 
The Panthers did break through with a four-run fifth, capped off by a three-run homer by Elgarten. Skidmore threatened once again in the bottom of the seventh, but Middlebury reliever Conor Himstead forced Marino to ground out for the save.
 
Spencer Shores (4-0) picked up the win for Middlebury, allowing three earned runs on seven hits in five innings, striking out four. Himstead earned his fifth save of the season, pitching two scoreless innings.
 
Jacob Berish (2-3) took the loss, allowing just a pair of runs on six hits, adding two strikeouts in four innings pitched. Spencer Meyer, Joe Morrisey, and Jonathan Kaiser pitched in relief.
 
Gilbert and Patrick Geiger each went 2-3 to lead the Thoroughbreds. Dasgupta, Marino, Brown, Potter, and Ryan Strickland also recorded a hit.
 
Skidmore will wrap up the 2017 season on the road, heading west to face Rochester in a four-game series next week. Friday's doubleheader will begin at 1 p.m.