ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Macalester College baseball team split a MIAC doubleheader with St. Olaf College  Saturday afternoon at Nicholson Field. The Scots (22-14) remain in a tie with Concordia for fourth place in the conference with an 11-7 mark in league play, while the Oles are now 11-20, 4-12 MIAC. The top four teams in the MIAC qualify for the conference playoffs, which start on May 11.

In the first game, Macalester couldn't solve St. Olaf pitcher Jake Mathison, who blanked the Scots on five hits while walking three and striking out 11 in seven innings. The Oles scored an unearned run in the top of the fourth on two errors and a single by Mathison for the only run of the game. Sophomore pitcher Cole Chang (Pleasantville, N.Y./Collegiate School) was nearly as effective, limiting St. Olaf to an unearned run on six hits while fanning three and walking none in seven innings. Junior Collin Brantner (Farmington, Conn./Kingswood Oxford) had two of Macalester's five hits.

The Scots got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning of Game 2, with senior Quentin Stuart (Nashville, Ind./Nashville) hitting his team-best seventh home run of the season for a 1-0 lead. Then in the fifth, sophomore Jared Abelson (Herndon, Va./South Lakes) hit a two-run single and later scored on a single by Stuart for a 4-0 advantage.

That's all the support first year pitcher Matthew Plisko (Alpharetta, Ga./Pace Academy) needed, as he tossed a nine-inning shutout to improve to 6-2 on the year. Plisko held the Oles to four hits while walking two and striking out seven in the win. Stuart and sophomore Graham Low (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont) contributed two hits apiece.

Macalester concludes the regular season on Monday, May 1 with a doubleheader at Saint John's University. The Johnnies, who will face both the Scots and the Cobbers next week, are in third place with an 11-5 conference record. The first game starts at 2:30 p.m. in Collegeville, Minn.