ST. PAUL, Minn. – For the first time in the 22-year history of the MIAC Playoffs, the Macalester College softball team is hosting a playoff game, facing Bethel University on Thursday, May 8 at the Macalester Softball Complex. The first-round game between the fourth-seeded Scots and the fifth-seeded Royals begins at 4:30 p.m., with the winner advancing to the semifinals on Saturday, May 10 at Saint Mary's University in Winona, Minn.
This is the second straight playoff appearance for Macalester, which finished sixth and lost a first-round game at Bethel, 7-2 a year ago. This season the Scots went 26-14 overall and 13-9 in league play, marking the highest overall and conference win totals since the 1996 team went 26-11 overall and 14-8 in the MIAC. A win on Thursday would break the program's record for wins in a season and send the Scots into the semifinals of the MIAC Playoffs for the first time.
Macalester is led offensively by senior outfielders
Renee Nicholson (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South), who is batting .389 with 32 runs and 17 stolen bases, and
Sophie Futchko (Prince Frederick, Md./Huntingtown), who has a batting average of .370 with 14 doubles, four triples, three homers and 28 runs batted in.
The pitching staff boasts the second-lowest earned run average in the MIAC at 2.79. Sophomores
Tess Bojorquez (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente), who is 10-5 with an ERA of 2.32, and
Martha Miller (Medford, Wis./Medford), who is 11-6 with an ERA of 2.87, rank seventh and 10th, respectively in ERA among MIAC pitchers. Miller was named the MIAC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after tossing a perfect game with eight strikeouts in a 9-0 victory over St. Scholastica last Saturday.
Bethel (19-20, 12-10 MIAC) and Macalester played earlier this season at Bethel, with the Royals winning the first game, 5-2 and the Scots taking Game 2, 3-2. The win snapped a 10-game losing streak to Bethel for Macalester, which led Game 1, 2-0 before the Royals pushed five runs across in the bottom of the sixth. Bethel's Abby Otterness had three hits in the first game, while Futchko went 2-for-3 in Game 2 and homered in the first game for the Scots. Mikaela Girard is batting a team-best .370, while Dominique Walicke is 14-7 with an ERA of 3.21 to lead the Royals' pitchers.
The other first-round match-up features third-seeded St. Olaf hosting sixth-seeded St. Catherine Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in Northfield, Minn. The St. Olaf-St. Kate's winner will face second-seeded Saint Benedict, while either Macalester or Bethel will take on top-seeded Saint Mary's in the semifinals on Saturday, May 10 in Winona, Minn. The final is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Tickets for all MIAC Playoff games are $10 for adults and $2 for students with an ID. Children five and under are admitted free. Ticketing will be handled exclusively online via
Hometown Ticketing; cash will not be accepted. Macalester students with a valid ID will be admitted free courtesy Macalester Athletics.
Live video |
Live stats |
Championship Website |
Tickets
2025 MIAC Softball Playoffs
First round - Thursday, May 8, 2025
Game 1: No. 5 Bethel at
No. 4 Macalester, 4:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 6 St. Catherine at No. 3 St. Olaf, 4:30 p.m.
Semifinals/Finals - Saturday, May 10, 2025 (at Saint Mary's, Winona, Minn.)
Game 3: Winner of Game 1 at No. 1 Saint Mary's, 11:00 a.m.
Game 4: Winner of Game 2 vs. No. 2 Saint Benedict, 1:30 p.m.
Game 5: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 4:00 p.m.
