ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The Macalester College baseball team went on the road and lost a pair of MIAC games to Bethel University, 14-2 and 7-4 in a MIAC doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Hargis Park. The Scots fall to 6-17 overall and 1-9 in the conference, while the Royals improve to 19-6, 9-1 MIAC.
In the first game, Bethel scored single runs in each of the first three innings, then broke through with a nine-run fifth inning for a commanding 12-0 lead. Junior
Josh Planko (Northville, Mich./Northville) hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning, and first year
Bobby Munoz (Santa Monica, Calif./Santa Monica) singled home first year
Brandon Kim (Los Gatos, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory) in the top of the seventh for Macalester's lone runs in a 14-2 defeat. Eight different players had hits for the Scots.
Macalester struck first in Game 2, with Planko driving in sophomore
Holden Peacock (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid School) with a single in the top of the first inning. The score remained 1-0 Scots, as senior pitcher
Ryan Przespolewski (Spring, Texas/Oak Ridge) held the Royals to four hits and no runs through five innings. Then in the sixth, Bethel tallied four runs on six hits to take a 4-1 advantage. In the top of the seventh, Macalester loaded the bases with two walks and a single by sophomore
Braden LaChapelle (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson). With two out, Peacock drew a walk to make the score 4-2.
In the top of the eighth, the Scots again loaded the bases with one out for junior
Nathan Gumagay (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill), who delivered a two-run single to tie the score at 4-4. Bethel broke the tie in a big way in the bottom of the eighth, when Joe Meurer hit a three-run home run for a 7-4 lead. Macalester put runners on second and third with one out in the top of the ninth, but a flyout and groundout ended the game.
Peacock went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI, while McCaskey also had two hits. Przespolewski went five innings on the mound, giving up two runs on six hits while walking one and striking out one in a solid effort.
Macalester hosts Carleton on Tuesday, Apr. 15 in another MIAC doubleheader. The first pitch is set for 2:30 p.m. at Nicholson Field.
