ST. PAUL, Minn – Macalester College softball matched up against Bethel University (12-10, 3-1 MIAC) in their 2015 MIAC home opener on Tuesday. The Scots fell to the Royals in a pair of games, dropping a 9-6 game one and a 12-4 game two.
Macalester falls to 12-7 overall and 0-2 in MIAC play this season as Bethel puts an end to Scot's five-game winning streak. Macalester will continue MIAC play on Thursday, April 2 when they travel to Northfield to take on Carleton in a doubleheader slated for 3:30 and 5:30 p.m.
Game One: Bethel 9, Macalester 6 In a lengthy game one, Macalester suffered from four defensive errors and 14 walked batters.
The Scots outhit the Royals, 12-7, but free base runners resulted in too many scoring opportunities for Bethel.
The Royals scored one in the first, two in the second, three in the fourth and one apiece in the final three innings.
Macalester scored their first run in the bottom of the fourth on a homerun by
Nikki Caicedo, marking her fourth homerun of the season.
The Scots put together a final rally in the bottom of the seventh when they scored five runs on six hits and two Bethel errors.
Saraswati Wilson,
Abby Cox and
Miranda Stokes who led off with three straight hits sparked the scoring run.
Erin Slater, Caicedo and
Anna Munson followed up with infield hits in the inning. Macalester was shut down three runs shy, falling in a final 9-6 game one.
Cox and Stokes each posted three hits in the game, with Stokes raking in two doubles. Caicedo finished with a team-high two RBI's.
Brittany Ehmann started on the mound for the Scots but was relieved by
Miranda Stokes after going 1.1 innings. Stokes faced 14 batters and pitched 2.1 complete before
Logan Tootle made an appearance to finish out the game. Tootle threw 3.1 innings, gave up two hits, three runs and walked seven. Ehmann was credited with the loss as her record fell to 6-3 on the mound this season.
Game Two: Bethel 12, Macalester 4 The Scots were off to a better start in game two by scoring the first run of the game on a homerun by
Abby Cox. Cox had a solid day at the plate, going four for seven in the series.
Bethel found their stride, scoring four runs in the third, three in the fourth and fifth and two more in the sixth. They posted 13 hits in the game to Macalester's six.
The Scots were able to get two more runs across the plate in the fourth and one in the sixth, both the results of homeruns – a two-RBI homerun by Caicedo (her second of the day) and a solo shot by
Hali Englert.
Englert and Caicedo each had a hit in addition to their homeruns and
Vivi Gregorich posted her first career hit.
Brittany Ehmann started on the mound again for the Scots, throwing three innings and allowing four earned runs. Stokes and Tootle were each called in for relief innings after a tight strike zone resulted in tough pitching success. Ehmann was marked with the loss, her record moving to 6-4.
Follow Macalester's games vs. Carleton on April 2 online at:
http://portal.stretchinternet.com/carleton/
