ROCHESTER, Minn. – The Macalester College softball team followed up a 5-1 loss to UW-La Crosse with a 3-2 victory over Luther on Saturday at the Rochester Dome. The Scots improve to 4-2 on the season.

Against UW-La Crosse (3-3), the Eagles broke a scoreless tie with three runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth for a 5-0 lead. Macalester was held to just two hits over the first six innings before breaking through in the seventh. Senior Elsa Church (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood) led off with a single, advanced to third on an error and a groundout, and came home on a single by senior Mandy Morrical (Mount Vernon, Iowa/Mount Vernon) to make the score 5-1. With Morrical on second, UW-La Crosse retired the final batter to clinch the win. Senior Emily Pedersen (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) and junior Renee Nicholson (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) had the other hits for the Scots. First year pitcher Rileigh Morlock (Lincoln, Ill./Normal Community West) gave up five runs, three earned, on six hits while fanning five and walking one in four innings.

In the second game of the day, Macalester gave up a run to Luther (1-3) in the bottom of the first before answering with three runs in the top of the second. First year Rebecca Heinze (Rosemount, Minn./Prescott) singled home Morrical, first year Tess Bojorquez (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) singled and later scored on a bunt by first year Alli Johnson (Waukee, Iowa/Northwest), and Nicholson singled to score first year Monica Montoya (Blue Island, Ill./Dwight D. Eisenhower) for a 3-1 lead. The Norse scored a run and had a runner on third with one out, but Morlock retired the next two batters to end the inning and preserve the lead. The Scots' offense was unable to generate more runs, but Morlock sat the final nine batters down in order to preserve the victory.

Morlock came on in relief and blanked Luther on one hit while striking out three in five innings of work. Junior Kaitlyn Pistorius (Parker, Colo./Legend) started and allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits over two innings. Nicholson led the Macalester bats, going 3-for-3 with a walk and a run batted in. Junior Sophie Futchko (Prince Frederick, Md./Huntingtown) delivered two hits in the win.

The Scots head to Florida for THE Spring Games on Mar. 10-15.