ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College softball team closed out the regular season with a sweep of the College of St. Scholastica in a MIAC doubleheader Saturday afternoon at the Macalester Softball Complex. Sophomore Martha Miller (Medford, Wis./Medford) pitched a five-inning perfect game in a 9-0 win before the Scots took Game 2, 5-1 to improve to 26-14 overall and 13-9 in conference play. The Saints conclude their season 10-30 overall, 6-16 MIAC.

The results clinch fourth place for Macalester in the MIAC standings, which means the Scots will host fifth-place Bethel University in the first round of the MIAC Playoffs on May 8. This is the second straight postseason for Macalester, which qualified for the MIAC Playoffs last year for the first time since the playoff system was implicated in 2004.

In the first game Macalester jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Senior Renee Nicholson (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) led off with a single before her classmate Sophie Futchko (Prince Frederick, Md./Huntingtown) hit a double off the top of the fence in leftfield to plate Nicholson. Futchko came home on a single by sophomore Elizabeth Welch (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North), then Welch scored from third on a grounder by first year Ally Wolf (Valencia, Calif./Valencia). In the second, Futchko stepped up with runners on first and second and hit a blast over the leftfield wall for a 6-0 lead. The homer was Futchko's third of the season. Still in the second, Wolf notched her second RBI of the game with a single that scored Welch.

In the bottom of the third, the Scots loaded the bases for Nicholson, who singled to bring home first year Allison Dvorak (Poulsbo, Wash./North Kitsap). Futchko followed with a walk to make the score 9-0. With the Macalester bats on fire Miller didn't need to be perfect, but she was, tossing a five-inning perfect game. Miller faced the minimum 15 batters, striking out eight without a hit, a walk or an error. It is her first no-hitter as a Scot, as she improved to 11-6 on the season. Futchko went 2-for-2 with two runs, a double, a home run and five RBIs. Nicholson also had two hits and scored two runs.

In Game 2 the Scots broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the second, when senior Madeleine Kemper (Sioux Falls, S.D./Lincoln) singled home Miller. Still in the second, first year Safiya Butler (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) singled to score Kemper for a 2-0 lead. Nicholson drove in Dvorak with a single in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 3-0. Then in the fifth, first year Dylan Tapia (Tarzana, Calif./Notre Dame) hit a two-run double to bring home Wolf and sophomore Monica Montoya (Blue Island, Ill./Dwight D. Eisenhower) for a 5-0 advantage. St. Scholastica scored its first run of the day in the top of the seventh, but sophomore pitcher Paige Schultz (Hamilton, N.J./Steinert) struck out the final batter to wrap up the win.

Sophomore Tess Bojorquez (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) started and blanked the Saints over six innings, giving up four hits and striking out four to improve to 10-5 on the season. The Scots totaled 12 hits in the win, with Nicholson, Welch, Bojorquez, Wolf and Kemper registering two hits apiece.

Before the game, Macalester honored its seniors Futchko, Kemper and Nicholson as a part of Senior Day.

The Scots will host Bethel University in the first round of the MIAC Playoffs on Thursday, May 8. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Macalester Softball Complex.