PASADENA, Calif. – The University of Minnesota Morris baseball team dropped a pair of contests on the opening day of the 2024 season to Macalester College and Caltech. The Cougars were tied with the Scots, 3-3, going into the ninth inning before Macalester put the game away with five runs in the top half of the frame for an 8-3 win. In the nightcap, Caltech built a big early lead and fended off a late charge from the Cougars for an 8-4 victory.

Minnesota Morris continues its trip to California tomorrow, meeting Caltech once again at 1 p.m. (11 a.m. PST).

Macalester 8, Minnesota Morris 3
Despite just one hit in the contest, Minnesota Morris was right in the game until the final inning in the opener with Macalester. The Cougars took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Landen Meyerdirk walked with one out, stole second, then took third on an error. A Ben Meuser groundout brought him in to put UMN Morris ahead. Ethan Schmitz then supplied a RBI single to left that brought Ryan McGie home.

Breckin Silvain kept Macalester off the scoreboard until the top of the fourth when two Minnesota Morris errors allowed an unearned run for the Scots to make it 2-1. Macalester then took went on top in the sixth against Parker Gilchrist thanks in part to Matt Mukai reaching on a passed ball after striking out. Given that extra out, the Scots pushed two runs across for a 3-2 lead. In the bottom half of the inning, the Cougars evened the score at 3-3. Meuser was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and ended up on third base with two outs. He and Keegan Jonas then executed a double steal to tie things up.

Pitching was strong from both sides and chances were limited until the ninth inning. Four walks to the first five batters of the inning allowed Macalester to go in front before the Scots notched their lone hit of the inning – a ground-rule double that plated two more to make it 6-3. Two more runs came in on a passed ball and wild pitch to increase the margin to 8-3 heading to the bottom of the ninth. Though the Cougars were able to load the bases with two down, they didn't manage to cut into the deficit before the game was through.

Silvain struck out five in his 4.0 innings of work, while Gilchrist added four strikeouts in 4.0 innings. Brady Kenning (0-1) took the loss on the afternoon.

Caltech 8, Minnesota Morris 4
A six-run third inning broke open a 1-1 tie for Caltech and the Beavers held off a couple of comeback chances from Minnesota Morris in the late innings to pick up the win.

Caltech took a 1-0 lead with a RBI groundout in the bottom of the first against Cougar starting pitcher Josh Osten, but Minnesota Morris came back to tie the game in the top of the second when Ashton Pauly led off with a walk, moved up to second on a wild pitch, stole third, and scored on a wild pitch.

The Beavers took the lead for good in the bottom of the third. Garrett Knuf hit a one-out solo shot and Caltech continued to score thanks to four more hits, a walk, a hit batter, and a passed ball to take a 7-1 edge. Knuf then added a RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to make it 8-1.

In the top of the seventh, James Nelson and Logan Straumann worked walks to set the table for Tyler Moriarty. Moriarty delivered a one-out single that was compounded by a Caltech throwing error to reach third and score both Nelson and pinch-runner Blake Imhoff. Moriarty came home shortly thereafter on a wild pitch to cut the deficit to 8-4.

Caltech avoided any further damage in the seventh and then stranded a pair of runners in the top of the eighth before retiring Minnesota Morris in order in the top of the ninth to finish things off.

Moriarty had a 2-for-4 game and ended as the lone Cougar with a multi-hit contest. Osten (0-1) took the loss, while Dane Mammenga, Trevor Haberman, and Schmitz combined to finish off the contest and give up just one run over the final 5.1 innings.