ST. PAUL, Minn. – First year
Tess Bojorquez (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) drove in six runs on the day to lead the Macalester College softball team to a sweep of St. Catherine University in a MIAC doubleheader Saturday afternoon at the Macalester Softball Complex. The Scots, who won by scores of 4-3 and 10-6, improve to 22-10 on the season and 9-5 in the conference. The Wildcats fall to 11-22, 5-11 MIAC.
Before the games, Macalester honored its seniors
Elsa Church (St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood),
Mandy Morrical (Mount Vernon, Iowa/Mount Vernon),
Emily Pedersen (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) and
Cheyenne Woerman (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) as a part of Senior Day.
In the first game, Macalester answered a St. Catherine run in the top of the first with a run of its own in the bottom of the first. A grounder by Pedersen allowed junior
Renee Nicholson (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) to score from third. The Wildcats restored their lead with a run in the top of the third, only to have the Scots answer in the bottom of the inning. With runners on first and third and two out, first year
Tess Bojorquez (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) blasted a three-run homer over the fence in right-centerfield for a 4-2 lead. It was Bojorquez's second home run of the season. St. Kate's got a run back in the top of the sixth, but that's as close as the Wildcats would get. The win ended Macalester's four-game losing streak.
First year
Rileigh Morlock (Lincoln, Ill./Normal Community West) pitched all seven innings, limiting St. Catherine to three runs, one earned, on six hits while striking out four without a walk. First year
Alli Johnson (Waukee, Iowa/Northwest) led the offense with two hits in the win.
The Wildcats started quickly in Game 2 with two runs in the top of the first inning for a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning, Nicholson hit a one-out single and later scored on a two-out double off the centerfield fence by Pedersen. Bojorquez followed with a single that plated Pedersen to tie the score at 2-2 after one inning. Over the next two innings, St. Kate's scored three runs, one in the second and two in the third, to lead 5-2. Again the Scots responded, with junior
Sophie Futchko (Prince Frederick, Md./Huntingtown) scoring on a passed ball and first year
Elizabeth Welch (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) coming home on a single by Bojorquez in the bottom of the third. Then in the fourth, Nicholson singled home Morrical and Welch plated Futchko with an infield single to put Macalester on top, 6-5.
After the Wildcats tied the score with a run in the top of the fifth, the Scots broke through with four runs in the bottom of the sixth. After Nicholson and Welch started the inning with singles, Pederson delivered a ground-rule double that brought home Nicholson. Bojorquez hit a sacrifice fly to score Welch and first year
Callia Holland (Akron, Ohio/Hawken) singled to plate Pedersen. Church wrapped up the scoring with an RBI double that scored Holland for a 10-6 lead.
Morlock pitched two scoreless innings of relief to earn the win. Morrical went 4-for-4 with a run, while Bojorquez drove in three runs for the second straight game. Nicholson and Welch each had three hits and scored two runs, while Pedersen finished with two hits, two runs and two RBIs.
Macalester continues MIAC play with a doubleheader at St. Scholastica on Sunday, April 21. The first game starts at 1:00 p.m. in Duluth, Minn.
