MAUSTON, Wis. – The Macalester College baseball team opened MIAC play with a pair of victories against Augsburg University, 7-2 and 7-5 Thursday afternoon at Woodside Sports Complex. The Scots improve to 12-7 overall with the sweep, while the Auggies drop to 8-8.

The doubleheader, which marked Macalester's first games since Mar. 27, was moved to Woodside Sports Complex due to poor field conditions at Augsburg's field, Parade Stadium.

In the first game, Augsburg took a 1-0 lead with a run in the second inning. Macalester responded in the top of the third with two runs, including an RBI double from senior Nick McMullen (Payson, Ariz./Payson), for a 2-1 lead. After the Auggies tied the score with a run in the bottom of the third, junior Sam Goldberg (North Potomac, Md./Thomas S. Wootton) singled home senior Ben Castagnetti (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) in the top of the fourth to lead, 3-2. Clinging to a one-run edge, the Scots loaded the bases in the top of the seventh on singles by first year Cooper Jensen (Washington, D.C./The Field School) and junior Jared Abelson (Herndon, Va./South Lakes), and a walk by McMullen. Senior Collin Brantner (Farmington, Conn./Kingswood Oxford) stepped up and gave Macalester some breathing room with a grand slam to right. It was Brantner's second homer of the season.

Sophomore pitcher Matthew Plisko (Alpharetta, Ga./Pace Academy) improved to 5-1 on the season after limiting the Auggies to two runs on three hits while striking out six and walking four in six innings. Junior lefty Thomas Shogren (Woodbury, Minn./Minnehaha Academy) pitched a scoreless seventh inning and fanned two batters.

The Scots struck first in Game 2, as sophomore Carl Francalangia (West Hartford, Conn./The Loomis-Chaffee School) hit a one-out triple in the top of the third inning and came home on a grounder by sophomore Alex Bearden (St. Louis, Mo./Mary Institute Country Day). The Auggies answered with two runs in the bottom of the third to lead 2-1. A pair of sacrifice flies by junior Graham Low (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont) and Goldberg plated senior Alex Baretta (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) and Brantner to put Macalester on top, 3-2.

Again, the Scots broke open the game late with four runs on five hits in the top of the eighth. Baretta, Brantner, Low and Goldberg each drove in runs in the eighth for a 7-2 advantage. Augsburg rallied in the bottom of the ninth with three runs, including a two-run double by Cam Erickson. But Shogren came in with one out in the ninth and struck out both batters he faced to earn the save and close out the win. Castagnetti finished with three hits, including a double, while Baretta had two hits, two runs and an RBI.

Senior pitcher Joe Trier (Madison, Wis./West) held the Auggies to two runs on nine hits while fanning four and walking none in seven innings of work to improve to 2-1.

Macalester is scheduled to play Saint Mary's University in a MIAC doubleheader on Saturday, Apr. 14. The games, which were scheduled to be played at Macalester's Nicholson Field, have been moved to Gustavus Adolphus in St. Peter, Minn., starting at 1:00 p.m. Visit http://athletics.macalester.edu for updates to the schedule.