TUCSON, Ariz. – After a slight shift in schedule due to rain, the Macalester baseball team opened its spring trip against Sul Ross State. Both teams battled in the high scoring game, but the Lobos edged out the Scots in the end, 13-11. Macalester is now 1-5.
 
Sul Ross State went up 2-0 after the first two innings. In the bottom of the second, sophomore Niko Alexander (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) hit an RBI double to bring home senior Matt Mukai (Foster City, Calif./Aragon) and halve the Lobos' lead. In the top of the third, the Lobos went up 4-1. The Scots got one back in the bottom of the inning, when junior Hayes Waddell (North Hampton, N.H./Winnacunnet) singled to right field to score sophomore Stephen Paulsen (Middleton, Wis./Middleton). Sul Ross extended their lead to 8-2 in the next half inning. However, the Scots continued to fight and closed the deficit to four runs, 8-4, when sophomore Josh Planko (Northville, Mich./Northville) singled to left field and brought in Mukai and sophomore Nathan Gumagay (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill). The Lobos were able to pick up one run in the top of the fifth, but the Scots' resilience tied the game at the back half of the fifth inning.
Paulsen and Waddell hit back-to-back singles to start the inning and put two runners on base. Then senior Matt Odom (Glendale, Calif./St. Francis) blasted the ball out of the park to close the gap to 9-7. The Scots then were able to load the bases again after junior Bowman Wingard (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) singled, Mukai was hit by a pitch, and Gumagay was walked. Wingard capitalized on a wild pitch by the Lobos' pitcher to make it 9-8. Planko then hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Mukai and tie the game at 9-9. The Lobos picked up two more runs between the sixth and seventh innings. In the bottom of the seventh, sophomore Evan Kang (Sherman Oaks, Calif./Village Christian) hit an RBI single to score Gumagay, and in the next inning, Gumagay hit an RBI single to score fellow sophomore Raymond McCaskey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Manitou Springs) to tie the game up again at 11-11. Sul Ross was able to pick up two runs at the top of the ninth, which unfortunately were the difference in the game, despite the Scots' continued fight through the bottom of the ninth. The Scots ultimately fell 13-11. Gumagay, Mukai, and Paulsen all went 2-for-3 this evening. Gumagay and Paulsen each registered two runs while Mukai notched three.
 
The Scots' next game will be Sunday March 10 against Southwest State. First pitch is set for 4:00 pm MST/6:00 pm CDT.