ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College baseball team wrapped up the 2019 season with a pair of non-conference losses to the University of Northwestern, 13-8 and 8-1, Monday afternoon at Nicholson Field. The Scots end the year with a 19-20 record overall, while the Eagles improve to 25-15.

After Northwestern scored two runs in the first inning of Game 1, Macalester responded with run-scoring hits by senior Sam Goldberg (North Potomac, Md./Thomas S. Wootton) and first year James Crutcher (San Francisco, Calif./Lick-Wilnerding) in the bottom of the first to tie the score at 2-2. The Eagles broke the game open with seven runs in the top of the third inning to take a 9-2 advantage. In the bottom of the fourth, sophomore Leonardo Bucello (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) belted a three-run home run and Crutcher came home on a grounder by first year Anthony Palma (Mooresville, N.C./Lake Norman) to make the score 9-6. In the top of the sixth, the Eagles put the game out of reach with four runs to lead 13-6. Palma singled home Bucello in the bottom of the sixth, and Crutcher hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Goldberg in the seventh to close out the scoring.

Goldberg went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. First year Louis Silverman (New York City, N.Y./Bronx HS of Science) pitched a scoreless inning of relief.

In Game 2, Northwestern struck first with three runs in the top of the third inning. The Scots didn't get on the scoreboard until the bottom of the sixth, when first year Michael Moreno (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) doubled to score senior Jared Abelson (Herndon, Va./South Lakes), who led off the inning with a double. Moreno advanced to third on an error, but he was stranded as the Eagles retired the next three batters. In the top of the seventh, UNW scored five runs, all with two outs, to take a commanding 8-1 advantage. Macalester failed to score in the seventh to end the game. Moreno had two of the Scots' four hits.

The twinbill marked the final games for Macalester seniors Abelson, Goldberg, Zach Anderson (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township), Graham Low (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont) and Thomas Shogren (Woodbury, Minn./Minnehaha Academy). The class went 83-72 in four years, helped the Scots qualify for the MIAC Playoffs twice and contributed to the 2017 conference playoff championship. Macalester will return 31 players from this year's roster in 2020.