ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College softball team traded wins with Hamline University in a MIAC twin bill Tuesday night at the Macalester Softball Complex. Sophomore pitcher Martha Miller (Medford, Wis./Medford) tossed a complete game shutout to earn the win for Macalester. The Scots are now 15-7, 2-2 in the conference. The Pipers are now 11-11, 1-3 MIAC.

Macalester started the day off well, with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. First year Safiya Butler (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) hit a one-out double then scored when senior Sophie Futchko (Prince Frederick, Md./Huntingtown) followed with a double. Later in the inning, sophomore Tess Bojorquez (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) hit a two-out single to plate Futchko for a 2-0 lead. In the top of the fifth, Hamline put runners on first and third but a lineout ended the inning. Then in the bottom of the sixth, the Scots loaded the bases with nobody out, only to have Hamline pitcher Allison Boynton induce three straight groundouts to keep Macalester from adding to its lead. Miller didn't need any more runs, as she retired the Pipers in the top of the seventh to complete the shutout.

Miller went the distance, tossing a two-hit shutout while fanning six batters and walking two in seven innings to improve to 6-1. Futchko swung the hot bat for the Scots, going 3-for-3 with a run, a double and an RBI. Butler, Bojorquez and sophomore Elizabeth Welch (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) had the other hits for Macalester, as Boynton limited the Scots to two runs on six hits in a complete-game effort.

In Game 2, Macalester again scored in the first inning, with Butler scoring from second on a two-out single by Welch for an early 1-0 advantage. Bojorquez, starting on the mound in Game 2, kept the Pipers quiet for two innings before they answered back with offense in the third. After three straight hits, a Scots error scored Hamline's second run to tie the game. By the end of the third, the Pipers led 4-1, with only one earned run credited to Macalester pitchers.

The Scots fought to shrink their deficit, with a Futchko RBI single in the bottom of the third to score senior Renee Nicholson (Downers Grove, Ill./ Downers Grove South). Hamline extended the lead to 5-2 in the fifth before first year Dylan Tapia (Tarzana, Calif./ Notre Dame) hit a towering shot over the left-center field wall for her first collegiate home run.


The Macalester offense couldn't close the 5-3 gap, putting two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh but unable to get them home. After winning Game 1 behind a complete game performance, the Scots fell to one from Hamline pitcher Dana Rosbacka in just 67 pitches.

Macalester continues MIAC play on Thursday, April 10 with a MIAC doubleheader at Concordia College. The first game is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. in Moorhead, Minn.