ON TAP
Macalester gets its 2015 season underway, Friday, when it begins a 10-game trip to Tucson, Ariz.
 
The Scots open their spring trip with a 4 p.m. MST games versus Concordia (Wis.) at the Kino Sports Complex. Saturday, they moved to Reid Park for a pair of games, taking on Winnipeg at 9 a.m. followed by a 12:30 p.m. games with Carroll (Wis.).
 
A 9 a.m. game Sunday, at Kino, versus Concordia (Ill.) precedes an off day Monday. Macalester is then scheduled to play games on four consecutive days beginning with another game versus Concordia (Wis.), next Tuesday at 9 a.m.
 
The Scots continue with a 3 p.m. game, Wednesday, versus Marian before facing Illinois Institute of Technology in a doubleheader, Thursday, beginning at 9 a.m.
 
The trip concludes next Friday with Macalester facing a pair of familiar foes in Carleton and Augsburg. The Scots and Knights square off at 9 a.m. before finishing the trip with a 12:30 p.m. game versus the Auggies.

WATCH NOW: Senior captain Scott Foltz talks about Macalester's upcoming Spring Break trip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NlU8Gg6d5Q&feature=youtu.be (Created by Bert Yaffe).

A LOOK AHEAD
Macalester, in the words of head coach Matt Parrington, is "In large part, an unproven team."
 
The Scots are looking for a return to the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoffs for the first time since 2011 and, despite being picked to finish 10th in the 11-team conference, have reasons for being optimistic about their chances.
 
At the top of that last is returning all-conference and all-region catcher Tom Forster. The switch-hitting senior led Macalester in hitting (.416), slugging (.616) and on-base percentage (.486) while driving in 32 runs and stealing nine bases.
 
"He's a solid switch-hitter who did a good job in the three hole last year," Parrington said. "He has explosive speed and the versatility to play the outfield."
 
Quentin Stuart provided a solid cleanup hitter during his first collegiate season a year ago, As the team's primary third baseman he batted .337 with a team-leading 12 doubles.
 
"He shows good power," Parrington said of Stuart. "He had a productive first-year campaign holding down the four hole and we look for continued development on the defensive side of the ball."
 
Macalester will be young at the top of its pitching staff with sophomores Joseph Aulisi and Lucas Babinec expected to lead the way.
 
Aulisi's 2-2 record as a rookie belied the fact that he posted a 2.77 earned run average while allowing opposing batters just a .209 batting average.
 
"We look for Joseph to build on last year and take another step forward," Parrington said of the right hander. "He's a strike thrower with solid secondary pitches.
 
Babinec was second on the staff last year with six starts and allowed just four extra-base hits, and no home runs, in 29.2 innings of work.
 
"He's a workhorse," Parrington said of the lefty. "Lucas has good stuff and we look for him to give us a chance to win every time he takes the mound."
 
Although unproven, Parrington will rely on the experience gained by last year's team.
 
"We gained some valuable experience last year and hope that will lead to a more consistent product on the field this year," he said. "We need our key players to have good years and our pitching needs to give us a chance to win."
 
MAMA, I'M COMING HOME
Three Scots will be returning to their home state during the team's trip to Tucson.
 
Senior pitcher Paul Schubring returns home for his final time as a Scot. The 6-4, 224-pound righty hails from the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert, just 100 miles northwest of Tucson.
 
Sophomore pitcher Forest Redlin hails from Tempe, just another seven miles northwest of Gilbert.
 
Pitcher/infielder Nick McMullen will be making his first trip home as a Scot. McMullen's hometown of Payson is north-northeast of Phoenix and is a three-hour drive from Tucson.
 
HE'S THE BOSS
The longest-tenured head coach at Macalester, Matt Parrington is entering his 16th season as the school's head baseball coach. His career record of 241-318-2 makes him the winningest coach in school history.
 
Parrington was the 2011 MIAC coach of the year after leading Macalester to the regular-season crown its first MIAC championship in 61 years. He has led the Socts to playoff appearances in 2000 and 2011.
 
Parrington is a 1991 graduate of Minnesota State University – Mankato, where he earned an undergraduate degree in mass communication and a master's degree in sports administration in 1993. He enjoyed a career as both an outfielder and pitcher and was a member of three North Central Conference championship teams while playing under American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame head coach Dean Bowyer. Following his playing career, he served as a graduate assistant coach with duties as the team's pitching coach.
 
Parrington came to Macalester from the Milwaukee Brewers front office in the fall of 1996, where he served as a sales manager in the season ticket and group sales office. During his first three years on staff at Macalester he was the associate head coach under his predecessor, Steve Hauser, and served as recruiting coordinator.
 
During the summer of 2012, Parrington was inducted into the Class A Minnesota State Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame for his on field play with the Minnetonka Millers.
 
UP NEXT
After returning from Arizona, the Scots will have eight days before returning to action and opening the MIAC portion of their schedule with a doubleheader versus Bethel. The two-game set at Nicholson Field is slated to get underway at 1 p.m.

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