ST. PAUL, Minn. – For the second time since 2000, the Macalester College baseball team captured the MIAC Playoff championship by defeating Saint John's University in the second game, 11-6 Saturday at CHS Field. The Scots, who now receive the MIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, improve to 29-15 on the season. The Johnnies, who won the first game, 10-3 to force the second game, end their season at 28-16.
Macalester, coached by
Matt Parrington, will head back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017, when the Scots won the MIAC Playoff crown and played in the NCAA Regional for the first time in the program's history. The win over Saint John's extends Macalester's program record for wins in a season to 29.
In the first game, Saint John's scored seven runs in the first three innings to take a commanding 7-0 lead. In the bottom of the third, first year outfielder
John McMurray (Washington, D.C./Sidwell Friends) and sophomore outfielder
Tristan Lander (West Chester, Pa./B. Reed Henderson) drove in runs and McMurray scored from third on a wild pitch to make the score 7-3 Johnnies. In the top of the fourth, Brendan Hemr led off with a home run for an 8-3 advantage, then Saint John's added two more runs in the top of the sixth to lead, 10-3. The Johnnies totaled 15 hits in the win, while the Scots had eight hits and left nine runners on base.
Junior infielder
Holden Peacock (Houston, Texas/Kinkaid School) went 3-for-4 with one run, while McMurray finished with two hits, a run and an RBI. Junior pitcher
Caleb Chou-Green (San Francisco, Calif./Peddie School) pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, holding the Johnnies to a hit and a walk.
In the deciding second game, Macalester took an early lead with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Peacock led off with a single, stole second, then scored when first year outfielder
John McMurray (Washington, D.C./Sidwell Friends) tripled. Lander followed with a single to plate McMurray for a 2-0 lead. Saint John's scored a run in the top of the second, then took the lead with two runs in the top of the fourth for a 3-2 edge. In the bottom of the fourth, sophomore catcher
Bobby Munoz (Santa Monica, Calif./Santa Monica) doubled, moved to third on a single by senior infielder
Tristan Jones (Fairfield, Conn./Greens Farms Academy) and scored on a sacrifice fly from senior infielder
Nathan Gumagay (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill) to tie the game at 3-3.
The Scots broke through in the bottom of the fifth, with Lander delivering a two-run double and scoring on a single by senior infielder
Josh Planko (Northville, Mich./Northville) for a 6-3 advantage. The Jonnies tallied a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to make it a one-run game, 6-5. In the bottom of the seventh, McMurray and Lander led off the inning with singles. Planko followed with a bunt to third that was thrown into right field, then the right fielder's throw flew into the dugout, allowing all three runs to come home for a 9-5 Macalester lead.
After Saint John's pushed a run across in the top of the eighth, Lander doubled home McCaskey and scored on a single from Planko, all with two out, for an 11-6 lead. Senior right-hander
Ben King (Chicago, Ill./Whitney M. Young Magnet), who entered the game to start the seventh, retired the Johnnies in the top of the ninth on a strikeout and two groundouts to end the game. King pitched the final three innings, limiting Saint John's to one run on three hits to earn the save.
Lander went 4-for-5 with two doubles, three runs and four RBIs, while McCaskey, McMurray and Planko each had two hits. McMurray also scored three runs. Junior pitcher
Josh Schmidt (Chicago, Ill./Whitney M. Young Magnet) entered the game in the fourth and held Saint John's to two runs on three hits over two innings to earn the win.
Macalester will play in the NCAA Tournament next week at a location to be announced. The NCAA Selection Show is scheduled for Monday, May 11 at 11:00 a.m.
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2026 MIAC Baseball Playoffs, hosted by Hamline University at CHS Field
Thursday, May 7
Game 1: No. 4 Saint Mary's 8, No. 1 Bethel 6 - 11 innings
Game 2:
No. 2 Macalester 5, No. 3 Saint John's 4
Friday, May 8
Game 3: No. 3 Saint John's 4, No. 1 Bethel 3
Game 4:
No. 2 Macalester 11, No. 4 Saint Mary's 4
Game 5: No. 3 Saint John's 9, No. 4 Saint Mary's 8
Saturday, May 9
Game 6: No. 3 Saint John's 10,
No. 2 Macalester 3
Game 7:
No. 2 Macalester 11, No. 3 Saint John's 6
