ON TAPMacalester is slated for a trio of doubleheaders this week, playing two of those twin bills at the friendly confines of Nicholson Field.
The Scots are slated to take on Saint John's, Tuesday, in a 2:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at St. John's Field in Collegeville, Minn., before returning home for a Thursday non-conference twin bill with Bethany Lutheran and Saturday's two-game set with Gustavus Adolphus. Both of those doubleheaders are scheduled for 2:30 p.m. starts at Nicholson Field.
FOLLOWING THE SCOTSFans can follow the Scots, Tuesday, by going to
http://portal.stretchinternet.com/csbsju/ for live stats and web casts of both of today's games. For Thursday's and Saturday's game, go to
http://portal.stretchinternet.com/macalester.
WHEN LAST WE METThe Johnnies swept the Scots at Nicholson Field, April 22, 2014, 9-2 and 5-2, collecting 25 hits in the process, including six doubles and a home run, giving head coach Jerry Haugen his 700th career win in the process.
Tom Druk and Derek Graves were two of St. Johns' four players to collect a pair of hits in game one of the twin bill. The Scots were limited to just four hits in the opener, all of which went for extra bases.
Game two saw the Scots take a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single by
Tom Forster, which was followed by another run-scoring base hit by
Quentin Stuart.
From there, Johnnies' pitcher Justin Thompson shut the door, as he did not allow a run over the final eight innings and his team chipped away at the lead, scoring single runs in the fourth, sixth, seventh eighth and ninth innings.
The Scots and Vikings last met March 5, 2013, at the Metrodome with Bethany Lutheran coming away with a 2-1 win in 13 innings.
The Vikings manufactured the winning run in the bottom of the 13th as Dylan Gass led off the inning with a single and moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Adam Geiger and a ground out by Mitch Sellers then collected the game-winning base hit to end the game.
Sam Berk scored Macalester's lone run when as he came home when David Melms reached on an error. Andy Gensch scored on a third-inning RBI double by Lucas Herd before the team's played nine scoreless innings.
The Scots swept a doubleheader from the Gusties on April 18, 2014. Macalester rallied with a five-run seventh inning to win game one, 8-4, before posting a 5-0 shutout in game two.
After falling behind, 3-0, the Scots scored a run in the fourth and two in the fifth to tie the game.
Tom Forster scored two of those runs, scoring on an RBI double in the fourth by
Quentin Stuart and a Stuart single in the fifth, and drove in the other with a triple.
Forster also drove in the tying run in the top of the seventh. He would later score on
Peter Bertel's two-run double and the final two runs came home on a two-run single by Berk.
Forest Redlin pitched two scoreless innings in relief, allowing just one walk while striking out three, to earn his first career victory.
Game two saw the Scots put up four runs in the sixth inning and
Justin Kleschen's complete-game, six-hitter earned Macalester a series sweep.
In going the distance, Kleschen walked two and struckout two for his first win of the season.
Forster once again was the key for the Scots' offense, going 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base.
LOOKING BACKMacalester dropped four MIAC games last week, losing 5-4 in eight innings and 14-2 at Hamline, Thursday, before losing 7-5 and 16-3 at home, Saturday, to Saint Mary's.
The Scots got off on the right foot in game one when Berk homered to left-center field to lead off the second inning. He would account for Macalester's second run when he scored, after singling, on a double by
Collin Brantner.
Phillip Stuhr doubled home Brantner and scored when
Nick Sia reached on a bunt single and saw the throw go into right field.
Four unearned Hamline runs in the bottom of the fourth would tie the game as Scot pitcher
Joseph Aulisi got through the inning with a no hitter intact.
Macalester had a chance to win the game in the seventh when Sia walked and was sacrificed to second base by
Jonathan Melms. However, Nicholas Rosier got out of the inning with a pair of strikeouts to end the threat.
Hamline won the game in the eight innings when Matt Connell led off frame with a triple. Dan Moro was intentionally walked before Aulisi got Jacob Picht on a strikeout. Evan Cordell then came to the plate and fouled off one two-strike pitch before lofting a fly ball over a drawn in outfield to end the game.
Berk had two hits for the Scots while scoring twice to lead the team's offense. Aulisi pitched Macalester's first complete game of the season, allowing just three hits and one earned run over seven and one-third innings while walking four and striking out seven.
Game two saw the hosts score twice in the first inning before a five-run outburst in the second gave them a comfortable lead as they cruised to a 12-run win.
Berk went 3-for-3 with two doubles in the game, having entered the day ninth nationally with 13 two-base hits. On the day he was 5-for-7 with three extra-base hits. Stuart added a pair of hits.
HE MUST BE BUTTER, BECAUSE HE'S ON A ROLLNick Mar has reached base safetly in 12 consecutive games, even after having a nine-game hitting streak end in game two of Macalester's doubleheader with Hamline.
Mar has reached base safely in 19 of the 20 games he has played this season. The only game in which he failed to reach base was when he made a pinch-hitting appearance in an 8-7 loss to Augsburg, March 20, in Tucson, Ariz. He already has career highs in home runs (4) and RBI (14) this season and is hitting a career-best .349.
HE'S BAD, HE'S NATIONWIDEParaphrasing the ZZ Top song
I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide is appropriate when referencing Berk, who is in the midst of a career year as the Scots' first baseman ranks highly in several categories nationally.
Through games of April 16, he was second among all Division III players in doubles per game (0.71) and tied for seventh in total doubles (15). His batting average (.466) and slugging percentage (.781) were both 15th national as well and he currently leads the MIAC in average (.463), slugging percentage (.750) and extra-base hits (18).
NATIONAL RANKINGSA total of 375 teams play NCAA Division III baseball and, through games of April 12, the Scots are ranked highly in several categories.
INDIVIDUALS| Category | Player | Rank | Total | National Leader | Total |
| Batting Average | Sam Berk | 15 | .466 | Chris Triano, Purchase | .561 |
| Doubles/Game | Sam Berk | 2 | 0.71 | Nate Pajka, Bates | 0.80 |
| Doubles | Sam Berk | 7 | 15 | Abe Welckle, Augsburg | 17 |
| Home Runs/Game | Quentin Stuart | 29 | 0.25 | Jack Lackner, Wooster | 0.48 |
| Slugging Pct. | Sam Berk | 15 | .781 | Chris Triano, Purchase | 1.000 |
TEAM| Category | Rank | Total | National Leader | Total |
| Scoring | 27 | 8.10 | Salisbury | 10.90 |
| Doubles/Game | 8 | 2.59 | Concordia-Moorhead | 3.17 |
| Home Runs/Game | 4 | 1.00 | Wartburg | 1.19 |
| Home Runs | 10 | 22 | Frostburg State | 33 |
| Slugging Pct. | 4 | .514 | Concordia-Moorhead | .539 |
PROBABLE LINEUP HE'S THE BOSSThe longest-tenured head coach at Macalester,
Matt Parrington is in his 16th season as the school's head baseball coach. His career record of 248-335-2 makes him the winningest coach in school history.
Parrington was the 2011 MIAC coach of the year award after leading Macalester to the regular-season crown for its first MIAC championship in 61 years. He has led the Scots 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 play with the Minnetonka Millers.
UP NEXTThe final full week of the regular season sees Macalester playing a pair of non-conference doubleheaders next week before playing its final MIAC doubleheader of the season.
Monday, the Scots are scheduled to entertain North Central in a 3 p.m. doubleheader at Nicholson Field before taking on Northwestern in a twi-night doubleheader, Tuesday, in Roseville, Minn., with the opening game scheduled for a 5 p.m. start.
Next Thursday, Macalester concludes MIAC play when they go across the Mississippi River to Minneapolis for a 4 p.m. doubleheader with Augsburg at Parade Stadium.
SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLEYou can follow Macalester Athletics on a variety of social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. To find information and links to the sites, go to http://athletics.macalester.edu and click on the "Multimedia" tab at the top of the page.
