PASADENA, Calif. – The Macalester College baseball team opened the 2024 season today out in California, playing Minnesota-Morris. The Scots came out on top, 8-3 to kick off the season.
 
The Scots went down 2-0 in the first inning. The Scots picked up one run in the fourth. Junior Bowman Wingard (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) singled and a fielding error by the Cougars allowed sophomore Niko Alexander (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) to score. The Scots then took the lead at the top of the sixth. Senior Charlie Burton (Round Lake, Ill./Round Lake) hit an RBI single to bring home fellow senior Matt Odom (Glendale, Calif./St. Francis). Senior Matt Mukai (Foster City, Calif./Aragon) was then able to score to take a 3-2 lead. However, the Cougars tied the game back up in the bottom of the inning. However, the Scots rallied in the ninth. Alexander scored his second run of the game after Minnesota-Morris walked the Scots with bases loaded. Junior Hayes Waddell (North Hampton, N.H./Winnacunnet) then smashed a ground rule double two bring home sophomore Tristan Jones (Fairfield, Conn./Green Farms Academy) and first year Holden Peacock (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid School). Sophomore Nathan Gumagay (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill) scored off a passed ball and Waddell scored off a wild pitch to round out the scoring. Macalester won 8-3.
 
Waddell went 2-for-4 today, including his two RBI-double in the ninth. Alexander totaled two of the Scots' runs. Junior pitcher Jacob Posner (Los Angeles, Calif./Alexander Hamliton) finished out the last 3.2 innings, allowing no hits and striking out seven batters.
 
The Scots play California Institute of Technology tomorrow in Pasadena, Calif. First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m. CST.