ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College softball team scored 20 runs on 28 hits in a doubleheader sweep of St. Scholastica Monday afternoon at the Macalester Softball Complex. The games served as the MIAC and home openers for the Scots, who are now 11-9 on the season. The Saints fall to 5-11 after losing by scores of 7-2 and 13-2 in six innings.

Since the games were originally scheduled to be played at St. Scholastica but were moved due to poor field conditions, St. Scholastica was the home team and Macalester batted first.

Macalester set the tone early, as sophomore outfielder Safiya Butler (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield School) led off the first game with a single, stole second and scored on a double by junior pitcher Martha Miller (Medford, Wis./Medford). The Saints answered with two runs in the bottom of the first, only to have the Scots tie the score on a single by junior outfielder Alli Johnson (Waukee, Iowa/Northwest) that plated junior infielder Tess Bojorquez (San Clemente, Calif./San Clemente) in the top of the second. Then in the fourth, junior outfielder Callia Holland (Akron, Ohio/Hawken) scored from first following a single by junior Rebecca Heinze (Rosemount, Minn./Prescott) and an error. Johnson followed with a single that brought home Heinze for a 4-2 advantage.

Two more runs in the fifth made it 6-2. Junior infielder Elizabeth Welch (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North) singled home Butler, and sophomore catcher Dylan Tapia (Tarzana, Calif./Notre Dame) singled to plate Welch. The Scots added another run in the sixth, when Johnson drove in her third run of the game with a sacrifice fly that scored Holland for a 7-2 lead.

Miller started and gave up two runs on six hits while striking out four and walking one in four innings to improve to 7-6. First year Ainsley Sullivan (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin School) pitched the final three innings and shut out the Saints on two hits with four strikeouts and two walks to earn the save. Butler went 3-for-4 with two runs, and Johnson was 2-for-2 with three runs batted in.

In the second game, Macalester struck early again with four runs in the top of the first. Butler led off with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a flyout. Welch followed with a single to score Butler. With two out, Bojorquez and sophomore infielder Ally Wolf (Valencia, Calif./Valencia) hit back-to-back singles, with Wolf plating Welch. Holland drove in Wolf and Bojorquez with a double for a 4-0 lead. In the second, Welch singled home Butler again, then Holland and Johnson hit RBI singles in the third to put the Scots on top, 7-0.

After St. Scholastica pushed two runs across in the bottom of the third, Tapia singled to score Welch in the top of the fourth for an 8-2 lead. Then in the sixth, Miller, Welch and Tapia led off the inning with singles to load the bases. Bojorquez drove in Miller with a sacrifice fly, Wolf singled to score Welch, then Holland smashed a three-run home run to make the score 13-2. Holland's homer ties her with Johnson for the team lead with three round-trippers on the season.

Butler posted the same stat line as she did in Game 1: 3-for-4 with two runs. Welch went 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs, Holland had three hits, including a double and a homer, to go with six RBIs, and Tapia and Wolf each had a pair of hits. Wolf also scored three runs and drove in two more. Bojorquez pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win.

Macalester is scheduled to host Bethel in a MIAC doubleheader on Saturday, April 4. The first game starts at 1:00 p.m. at the Macalester Softball Complex.