TUCSON, Ariz. – The Macalester College baseball team fell to Wesleyan University, 16-9 Thursday afternoon at the Tucson Invitational, held at the Kino Sports Complex. The Scots drop to 3-3 on the season, while the Cardinals improve to 4-7.

Trailing 1-0 in the top of the third inning, Macalester pulled even when sophomore Leonardo Bucello (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) tripled to score senior Graham Low (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont). Still in the third, a sacrifice fly by first year Michael Helton (Laguna Beach, Calif./Sage Hill) plated Bucello for a 2-1 lead. After Wesleyan tied the score with a run in the third, the Scots erupted for five runs in the top of the fourth. Low and first year Anthony Palma (Mooreseville, N.C./Lake Norman) hit runs-scoring triples, while Bucello, senior Jared Abelson (Herndon, Va./South Lakes) and sophomore Zach Fried (Tai Tam, Hong Kong/Hong Kong International School) also drove in runs to put Macalester on top, 7-2.

The wheels came off for the Scots' pitching staff after that, as Wesleyan scored six runs in the fourth, two runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth to take a commanding 14-7 lead. Macalester scored twice in the top of the eighth, with Bucello coming home on an error and Fried singling to plate sophomore Sam Rosevear (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg). But the Cardinals scored two more runs in the bottom of the eighth and blanked the Scots in the ninth for the win.

As a team, Macalester registered 13 hits, with Palma going 4-for-5 with two singles, a triple, a double and a stolen base. Low also was a home run shy of the cycle, with a single, double and triple in five at-bats. Fried and Bucello both had two hits.

The Scots will play a pair of nine-inning games on Friday, Mar. 22, starting with a 12:00 p.m. PDT game against Arizona Christian University. Macalester faces Concordia-Wisconsin at 3:00 p.m. PDT.