ROSEMOUNT, Minn. – The Macalester College softball team swept Martin Luther College, 6-3 and 11-3 in a non-conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon at the Irish Sports Dome. The Scots improve to  11-5 on the season, while the Knights drop to 5-6.

In the first game, Macalester opened the scoring in the top of the first inning on a single by sophomore Claire O'Connor (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont) that plated junior G.G. Gunther (San Francisco, Calif./Lowell). Then in the fourth, the Scots scored four runs for a 5-0 lead, with Gunther hitting a two-run single and sophomore Samantha Barkan (New York, N.Y./Friends Seminary) singling home junior Morghan Bean (Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine). Another single by Barkan brought home Bean in the fifth for a 6-0 advantage. Martin Luther mounted a comeback in the bottom of the sixth with three runs, all with two out. But sophomore pitcher Sophie Migacz (McHenry, Ill./McHenry West) got out of the inning, then retired the side in order in the seventh to wrap up the win.

Migacz (8-3) went the distance, giving up three runs, one earned, on four hits while striking out nine without a walk in seven innings. Bean and Gunther each had three hits.

The Knights struck first in Game 2 with a run in the top of the first inning. Macalester answered in the bottom of the first with four runs on two-run singles by O'Connor and senior Nikki Caicedo (Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley). The Scots broke the game open with five runs in the bottom of the second. Gunther, O'Connor, Bean, junior Natalie Platt (Boulder, Colo./Boulder) and first year Kaela Jackson (Seattle, Wash./James A. Garfield) drove in runs. Martin Luther scored runs in the third and fourth innings to make the score 9-3 Macalester. In the bottom of the fourth, a grounder by Jackson plated Caicedo for a 10-3 lead. Jackson ended the game in the bottom of the sixth with a triple that brought home Platt with the final run.

Jackson and Scott each drove in three runs, while O'Connor, Caicedo, Platt, Jackson and first year Julia Carpenter (Stevensville, Mich./Lakeshore) had two hits apiece. Bean (3-2) pitched all six innings, allowing three runs on six hits while fanning three and walking none.

Macalester begins its home schedule on Tuesday, Mar. 28 with a non-league doubleheader against the University of Northwestern. The first game starts at 4:00 p.m. at the Macalester Softball Complex.