Macalester vs. Bethel box scores: Game 1 | Game 2

Bethel followed up a 9-4 game one victory with a 2-1 pitcher's duel triumph in the nightcap to sweep Macalester in the MIAC opener for both teams on a cold and windy day in Arden Hills.

After each team scored twice in the first inning in the opener, the Royals went up 6-2 with four runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Scots then got back into things with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth before Bethel clinched the win with three fifth-inning runs. The Royals won despite committing four errors. They had three triples and two doubles.

The top three batters in the Macalester lineup collected two hits apiece: Ali Nystrom (Jr., Minnetonka, Minn.), Olivia Abbott (Jr. Lakewood, Colo. / Green Mountain) and Amanda Cagan (Jr., Saratoga, Calif. / Monta Vista). Nystrom and Abbott each crossed the plate twice.

Amanda Knopf (Fy., Boulder, Colo.) pitched a gem in the second game, but Bethel came back from a 1-0 first-inning deficit to win 2-1. Knopf struck out five batters and walked just one. The Royals won the game with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Macalester is scheduled to play Thursday (April 2) at No. 3-ranked St. Thomas, but rain is forecast for the next two days.