NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The Macalester College softball team used solid pitching and five hits from junior Sophie Futchko (Prince Frederick, Md./Huntingtown) to take two from the University of Minnesota Morris, 3-1 and 11-2 in a non-conference doubleheader Friday night at the Dundas Dome. The Scots are now 3-1 on the season, while the Cougars open their schedule 0-2.

In the first game, Macalester struck for two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Futchko led off with a single, stole second, advanced to third on a grounder and scored on an infield hit by senior Elsa Church (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood) for a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, senior Mandy Morrical (Mount Vernon, Iowa/Mount Vernon) singled, stole second and scored on a single by senior Emily Pedersen (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) to make the score 2-0. In the bottom of the second, Futchko singled home first year Monica Montoya (Blue Island, Ill./Dwight D. Eisenhower) for a 3-0 advantage. Minnesota Morris pushed a run across in the top of the fifth on three consecutive two-out singles to make the score 3-1. The Cougars put a runner on second with one out, but first year pitcher Rileigh Morlock (Lincoln, Ill./Normal Community West) retired the final two batters on groundouts to give the Scots the win.

Morlock scattered six hits and gave up one run while striking out four and walking none in a complete-game victory. Pedersen and Futchko had two hits apiece.

Macalester started fast in Game 2, pushing three runs across in the top of the first inning. Pedersen singled home Nicholson, and first year Elizabeth Welch (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) hit a two-run single that plated Pedersen and Futchko for a 3-0 advantage. After Minn. Morris tallied an unearned run in the bottom of the first, the Scots responded with two more runs in the second. First year Alli Johnson (Waukee, Iowa/Northwest) tripled and scored on a single by Nicholson, then Futchko drove home Nicholson with a double for a 5-1 lead. The Cougars scored a lone run in the bottom of the second to make the score 5-2 Scots.

In the top of the fourth, Futchko singled home Johnson and later scored on an error for a 7-2 lead. Then in the sixth, Macalester scored four runs on three hits and two Cougar errors to put the game out of reach, 11-2. Futchko, Welch, Pedersen and sophomore Fiona Candland (San Francisco, Calif./Lowell) each drove in runs in the inning.

Futchko went 3-for-3 with a double, three runs batted in and three runs scored in Game 2. She finished the day 5-for-6 at the plate with three stolen bases. Nicholson also had three hits in the second game, with Welch and Johnson recording two hits apiece. Sophomore pitchers Kara Jensen (Elmhurst, Ill./York) and Maddie Molay (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) both tossed two scoreless innings while allowing one hit each in the win. Junior Kaitlyn Pistorius (Parker, Colo./Legend) started and allowed two runs, one earned, on two hits over two innings.

The Scots will play two more indoor games on Saturday, Mar. 2 before heading south for their annual Spring Break trip to Florida. Macalester faces UW-La Crosse and Luther in Rochester, Minn., starting at 12:00 p.m. in the Rochester Dome.