ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College softball team scored 17 runs on 22 hits in a doubleheader sweep of Augsburg, 10-2 and 7-6 Thursday at the Macalester Softball Complex. The MIAC wins move the Scots (12-18) into sixth place in the conference standings with a record of 6-8. The Auggies fall to 10-17, 2-10 MIAC.

Macalester jumped out to an early lead in Game 1 with three runs in the first inning. First year Sophie Futchko (Prince Frederick, Md./Huntingtown) came home from third on a grounder by senior Mackenzie Clarke (Redwood City, Calif./Sequoia), and junior Jessica Katzin (Chicago, Ill./Jones College Prep) hit a two-run double. After Augsburg scored twice in the top of the third, the Scots put four more runs on the board in the bottom of the fourth to lead 7-2. First year Madeleine Kemper (Sioux Falls, S.D./Lincoln) and Futchko singled home runs, while sophomore Elsa Church (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkland) delivered a two-run single in the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, Church led off with a single, advanced to third on a groundout and a single by junior Regan Brodine (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny), and scored when the Auggies threw to second on Brodine's stolen base. After a groundout advanced Brodine to third, Katzin hit a deep single to plate Brodine and give the Scots a 10-2 win. Katzin went 3-for-4 with a run and three runs batted in. Futchko, Church, Brodine and Kemper each had two hits, as Macalester totaled 14 hits in the win. First year pitcher Kaitlyn Pistorius (Parker, Colo./Legend) held Augsburg to two runs on three hits while striking out six and walking three in five innings. Church pitched a perfect inning of relief.

In the second game, Macalester loaded the bases in the second inning on a hit batter and two walks. First year Renee Nicholson (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) brought home sophomore Mandy Morrical (Mount Vernon, Iowa/Mount Vernon) with a groundout for a 1-0 lead. The Auggies answered with three runs in the top of the third to lead, 3-1. Church scored on a squeeze bunt by Morrical in the third, then Clarke drew a bases-loaded walk in the fourth to tie the score at 3-3.

In the bottom of the fifth, an infield single by Nicholson plated Morrical, and Katzin came home when Nicholson got into a rundown between first and second to put the Scots on top, 5-3. Augsburg racked up four hits in the top of the sixth to score two runs and tie the score at 5-5. Brodine drove in Church in the bottom of the sixth for the go-ahead run, but the Auggies tied the score when Meredith Taylor led off the seventh with a home run down the left field line.

In the bottom of the seventh, senior Emily Bergin (Houston, Texas/St. Thomas Episcopal) drew a lead-off walk, moved to second on a bunt by Kemper, and advanced to third on a single from Nicholson. Futchko stepped up and hit a grounder to the left side of the infield that allowed Bergin to come home with the game-winning run.

Nicholson went 2-for-3 with a run and two RBIs, while Brodine also had two hits. Church earned the win in relief of Pistorius, allowing a run on two hits over 1 1/3 innings.

Macalester is scheduled to host a doubleheader against MIAC foe Concordia on Saturday, April 23, beginning at 1:00 p.m. at the Macalester Softball Complex.