Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 TUSCON, Ariz. – The Macalester College baseball team began the Tucson Invitational on Saturday with two losses to non-conference opponents. The Scots were defeated by George Fox College 7-6 in 10 innings and by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges 18-4. Macalester's record is now 1-3 with eight more games in Arizona.

In the first game of the day against George Fox, Macalester took an early lead with a four-run second inning. After loading the bases, an RBI single from junior Stephen Paulsen (Middleton, Wis./Middleton) and a two-run single from sophomore Holden Peacock (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid School) put the Scots out front. Another run was brought home by junior Raymond McCaskey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Manitou Springs) in the third inning, bringing the lead to 5-0. Starting pitcher Ben Levinson (Piedmont, Calif./Piedmont) kept the Bruins at bay with three scoreless innings before facing trouble in the fourth. A three-run home run capped off a messy inning that put the Scots behind 6-5.
 
The Scots quickly responded to the Bruins' rally, tying it up 6-6 in the top of the fifth. After a hit-batter and two walks loaded the bases, the middle of the Macalester lineup threatened to put together a big rally of their own, but only one run was scored after a sacrifice fly by junior Tristan Jones (Fairfield, Conn./Greens Farms Academy).
 
Relief pitcher Cam Scholl (Belmont, Calif./Carlmont), after taking over for Levinson in the fourth inning, kept the Bruins quiet through the ninth inning to bring the game to extra innings. After a hitless tenth for the Scots, unable to bring the automatic runner home from second base, a single from George Fox brought home the winning run. That single was the first hit that Scholl surrendered on the night, closing his stellar pitching line at one run and one hit over 5 1/3 innings.
 
Macalester fell behind early to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the second game of the day, with rallies in the first and second innings that put the Scots down 5-0. In the bottom of the second, junior Josh Planko (Northville, Mich./Northville) made his way around the bases and came home on an RBI single from junior Niko Alexander (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman). In the fourth, down 8-1, the Scots put three hits on the board to score a run courtesy of the first collegiate hit and RBI for Bobby Munoz (Santa Monica, Calif./Santa Monica).
 
After Claremont-Mudd-Scripps increased the lead to 11-2 in the seventh inning, the Scots' next scoring opportunity came in the eighth. Loading the bases on two walks and a hit-batter with two outs, a single from Tommy Ball (Wayne, Pa./The Shipley School) drove in two runs to make the score 11-4. The Scots gave up another seven runs in the ninth, losing the game by a final score of 18-4. Starting pitcher Ben King (Chicago, Ill./Whitney M. Young Magnet) was credited with the loss, giving up seven runs in three innings. Sophomore Isaiah Ramirez (Houston, Texas/Northbrook) pitched two innings in relief, only giving up one run.
 
Macalester next faces Carthage College and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in the Tucson Invitational on Sunday, Mar. 16.