ST. PAUL, Minn. – Five runs in the top of the eighth inning lifted the Macalester College softball team to a 9-5 win in Game 2 of a MIAC doubleheader at St. Catherine University Saturday afternoon at St. Kate's Field. The Scots, who lost the first game, 8-1, are now 22-10 overall and 9-5 in the conference, while the Wildcats move to 14-20, 6-10 MIAC.

In the first game, Macalester struck first in the top of the first inning. Senior Sophie Futchko (Prince Frederick, Md./Huntingtown) doubled, advanced to third on a groundout and executed a double steal with sophomore Tess Bojorquez (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) for the game's first run. That's all the offense the Scots could muster off Wildcats' pitcher Sarah Christy, who did not allow a hit the rest of the way. St. Kate's scored twice in the third before putting five runs on the board in the fourth and adding a run in the fifth for an 8-1 victory. Sophomore pitcher Martha Miller (Medford, Wis./Medford) started and gave up three runs, two earned, on two hits while walking three and fanning one in three innings of work.

In the second game, the Scots answered two runs by the Wildcats in the bottom of the second with a run in the third on an RBI single by Bojorquez that plated senior Renee Nicholson (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South). Then in the fourth, Macalester pushed three runs across for a 4-2 lead. Sophomore Rebecca Heinze (Rosemount, Minn./Prescott) singled home first year Safiya Butler (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School), Miller doubled to plate first year Dylan Tapia (Tarzana, Calif./Notre Dame), and Miller scored on a fielder's choice in the inning.

St. Catherine was able to come back and tie the score at 4-4 with runs in the fourth and fifth innings, sending the game to extra innings. In the top of the eighth, the Scots loaded the bases with one out for first year Ally Wolf (Valencia, Calif./Valencia), who delivered a single to bring home Miller. Sophomore Elizabeth Welch (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) followed with a two-run single, then came home on a double by Butler. Senior Madeleine Kemper (Sioux Falls, S.D./Lincoln) made it 9-4 with a single that scored Butler. The Wildcats scored one run in the bottom of the eighth to make the final score 9-5 Scots.

Butler, Nicholson and Bojorquez each recorded three hits in the win, with Wolf, Welch and Kemper adding two hits apiece. Bojorquez pitched seven innings, allowing four runs on 11 hits while striking out four and fanning three. Sophomore Paige Schultz (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) gave up an unearned run without allowing a hit in one inning of relief.

Macalester takes on MIAC-leading Saint Mary's University on Tuesday, April 22. The MIAC doubleheader begins at 3:30 p.m. in Winona, Minn.