SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – The Union College softball team split games against Middlebury, winning game one 13-5, and dropping the second game 19-7, Wednesday at Alexander Field.
 
Game One: Union 13, Middlebury 5 (5)
 
The Dutchwomen used a six-run third inning and a three-run fifth inning to secure a 13-5 victory over the Panthers. Senior Kelsey Hartsoe went 3-3 at the plate and batted in three runs, while classmate Kim Puzo also plated a trio of runs on two hits to lead Union.
 
Trailing 3-0 in the first, the Dutchowomen leveled the score after Puzo, Hartsoe, and first-year Julia Boule each drove in a run.The Panthers scored two runs in the top of the third inning to gain a 5-3 edge.

Union responded by scoring 10 unanswered runs to finish the game, six of which came in the bottom of the third, starting with Puzo plating Boule on a shot to right center field. Junior Bailey Kross followed with a double to right center to drive in Puzo with the next at bat to tie the game, 5-5. The game-winning run was scored by Kross, who crossed home plate after first-year Rochelle Nuqui walked with the bases loaded. A 2 RBI single by senior Dana Dolinko wrapped up the inning, plating Nuqui and first-year Julissa Malana.
 
After a Hartsoe RBI single to right center in the fourth, Puzo and Kross both walked with the bases loaded to make the score 12-5. Hartsoe ended the game when her single to right center drove in Boule.
 
Game Two: Middlebury 19, Union 7 (6)
 
The Panthers scored 16 runs in the sixth inning to earn a 19-7 win over the Dutchwomen. Sophomore Makayla Koehler went 3-3 for the game with an RBI, while Kross hit her first homer of the season over the left field wall.
 
Middlebury notched the only runs of the first three innings, leading 3-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth. Junior Stuart Buxton got the Dutchwomen off the mark with an RBI single to left center field. The next batter, Dolinko, hit a sac fly to center, allowing Nuqui to score from third.
 
Union evened the score with a Koehler single that drove in Puzo. Malana corked an RBI double down the right field line to plate Koehler and give the Dutchwomen their first lead of the contest. Dolinko added a two-run cushion with an RBI single to right field to round out the fourth.
 
A 16 run sixth inning proved the difference for the Panthers. Kross hit a home run in the bottom of the frame, but the lead proved insurmountable.
 
Union returns to action Thursday, April 18, hosting Utica for a double-header starting at 3:30 p.m. (ET).