ST. PAUL, Minn. – Macalester College softball coach
Jody Gabriel recorded her 299th and 300th career victories in a sweep of Carleton College in a MIAC doubleheader Friday night at the Macalester Softball Complex. The wins give the Scots a 20-6 record overall (7-1 MIAC), marking the fastest to 20 wins in a season in the program's history.
The previous record occurred in 1996, when the Scots reached 20 wins in their 30th game. That squad went on to finish 26-11 for the most wins in a season in the history of Macalester's softball program.
Gabriel is now 300-314 in 16-plus seasons as a head coach, including 192-254 in 12-plus seasons at Macalester.
The day didn't start off well for Macalester, as Carleton (10-10, 1-5 MIAC) scored four runs in the top of the third inning and added a solo home run by Natasha Paez in the fourth for a 5-0 lead. The Scots didn't get on the scoreboard until the bottom of the sixth with two out. With runners on first and second, senior
Emily Pedersen (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) singled home first year
Alli Johnson (Waukee, Iowa/Northwest) for Macalester's first run of the game. Still in the sixth, first year
Elizabeth Welch (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) came home on an error and Pedersen scored on a wild pitch to make the score 5-3. After first year
Callia Holland (Akron, Ohio/Hawken) came home on an error, senior
Mandy Morrical (Mount Vernon, Iowa/Mount Vernon) singled to plate senior
Cheyenne Woerman (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) for the tying run. Morrical tried to score following a single by senior
Elsa Church (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood) but she was out at home.
After a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh, Macalester worked some magic with two out and a runner on first. A pop-up in the infield was misplayed, allowing Welch to reach base and junior
Renee Nicholson (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) to advance to third. Pedersen took advantage of the second chance, lacing a single down the left field line that brought home Nicholson with the game-winning run in walk-off fashion. The win marked the third walk-off, come-from-behind victory for the Scots so far this season.
First year
Rileigh Morlock (Lincoln, Ill./Normal Community West) started and re-entered to pitch the seventh to earn the win. She allowed four runs on five hits while striking out two without a walk in 3 1/3 innings. First year
Tess Bojorquez (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) also pitched well, limiting the Knights to one run on eight hits. Pedersen and Welch led the offense with two hits apiece.
The second game, which gave Coach Gabriel her milestone win, was never in doubt. Junior
Sophie Futchko (Prince Frederick, Md./Huntingtown) led off the bottom of the first with a single and later scored on a wild pitch, while Pedersen came through with a double that scored Welch for a 2-0 lead. Then in the second, Nicholson hit a two-run single that plated Church and Woerman to make the score 4-0. The Scots used the long ball to add to the lead in the bottom of the third, with Holland hitting a two-run blast, her second of the season, followed by Bojorquez's first homer as a collegian for a 7-0 advantage. Later in the inning, Futchko singled home Morrical to make it 8-0 Scots. Macalester scored two more runs in the bottom of the fourth on a wild pitch and a single by Bojorquez that brought home first year
Monica Montoya (Blue Island, Ill./Dwight D. Eisenhower).
Three pitchers did the rest, with Morlock and first year
Paige Schultz (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) each pitching two scoreless innings and junior
Kaitlyn Pistorius (Parker, Colo./Legend) pitching a scoreless fifth inning. Schultz was credited with the win, her first as a Scot. Welch went 3-for-3 with two runs, while Futchko registered two hits.
Macalester continues MIAC play with a home doubleheader against Saint Benedict on Sunday, April 14. The first game starts at 1;00 p.m. at the Macalester Softball Complex.
