CLERMONT, Fla. – Macalester College softball competed in their final day of play at the NTC Spring Games, finishing the tournament with a split versus Amherst and Ripon. The Scots fell to Amherst 10-3 before recording an exciting 8-7 win over Ripon.
Game One: Amherst 10, Macalester 3 Macalester took on Amherst (7-2 overall) in their first game on Friday afternoon. The Scots fell in a 10-3 final after Amherst scored major runs on a three-run homerun and a grand slam in the first two innings.
Macalester scored one run in the first and put together a late rally in in the top of the fifth compliments of a two-run bomb hit by
Saraswati Wilson (her fourth of the season).
Brittany Ehmann started on the mound for the Scots, pitching 1.2 innings before being relieved by
Miranda Stokes. Stokes went for 1.1 innings before
Logan Tootle came in to finish out the game.
Tootle pitched three complete, giving up three hits and one run. She struck out two.
Ehmann was credited with the loss, her record moving to 3-2 on the mound.
Abby Cox went two for three at the plate. Wilson and Slater each collected a hit, with Wilson raking in two RBI's on the homerun.
The Scots finished with four hits, Amherst posted 11.
Game Two: Macalester 8, Ripon 7 Macalester took on Ripon in their final game of the 2015 Spring Games. The Scots got off to a hot start, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning as a result of four hits. Cox singled to right field for an RBI and
Nikki Caicedo followed up with a 2-RBI single of her own. Ehmann scored the final run of the inning on a wild pitch.
Ripon battled back, scoring four runs in the top of the second on four hits and one Macalester error to tie the score up at four even.
The Scots regained the lead (5-4) in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single up the middle by
Miranda Stokes.
The battle continued in the top of the sixth as Ripon scored three runs on four hits and an error to earn back a 7-5 lead.
A two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth was just what the Scots needed.
Abby Cox hit an RBI single to score
Natalie Platt who reached on an error. Stokes followed with a single to left to advance the runners into scoring position.
Hali Englert came through with a huge single up the middle to score two runs and give the Scots an 8-7 advantage heading into the seventh.
Englert wasn't done. With two outs on the board and a runner on second, Ripon was looking to send the game into extras. With a hard hit through the right side, it looked like that would be the case.
Hali Englert charged the hit and gunned a throw to first to give the Scots' their third out and a decisive 8-7 victory.
Brittany Ehmann pitched seven complete innings for Macalester earning the win and moving her record to 4-2 this season.
Macalester has completed action at the Spring Games. They finished the tournament with a 4-5 record and move to 8-5 overall this season.
They will return to action as they kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, March 25 versus St. Olaf. The doubleheader will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the Macalester Softball Complex.
Live stats will be available for Wednesday's games at:
http://portal.stretchinternet.com/macalester/
