NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris softball team dropped both halves of a doubleheader to Macalester College on Friday night at the Dundas Dome in the first two games of the 2024 season for the Cougars. The Scots came away with 3-1 and 11-2 wins over the Cougars on the evening.

Minnesota Morris is back in action tomorrow at the St. Cloud State Dome, facing Concordia College-Moorhead in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

Game One: Macalester 3, Minnesota Morris 1
Early offense keyed the victory for Macalester in the first game. The Scots pounded out four hits in the first inning to score two runs, then added another run in the bottom of the second to take a 3-0 lead. 

After the rocky start, Morgan Wilhelm (0-1) kept Macalester in check for her remaining two innings before making way to reliever Alyssa Thornton. Minnesota Morris showed some fight by stringing together three consecutive hits with two outs in the top of the fifth to pull one run closer. Sophie Diver started the rally, followed by Anna Athey and a RBI single from Sierra Stevens that brought Diver in to make it 3-1.

Skyla Bristol had a one-out double in the seventh to bring the tying run to the plate for the Cougars, but Macalester pitcher Rileigh Morlock worked out of the jam to get the win.

Thornton had two scoreless innings of relief, striking out one. She and Olivia Losee had the other hits in the game for Minnesota Morris.

Game Two: Macalester 11, Minnesota Morris 2 (6 innings)
Batting as the visiting team in game two, Macalester plated three runs on three hits in the top of the first to set the tone. Though Stevens would come back with a lead-off walk and eventually score on a pair of errors from the Scots, Macalester had the answer with two more runs against Minnesota Morris starting pitcher Athena Grimley (0-1) before she was lifted with a 5-1 deficit.

In the bottom of the second inning, Losee led off with a double and Olivia Diver followed with a RBI double to make it 5-2. The score remained right there until the top of the fourth when Macalester tacked on two more thanks in part to a Cougar error.

The game was put away in the top of the sixth when Macalester tacked on four more runs on three hits and a pair of Minnesota Morris errors, taking an 11-2 lead. The Cougars needed two runs to continue the game past the bottom of the sixth and were able to get Kendra Schmitz and Losee aboard before the Scots ended things.

Losee had two of the four UMN Morris hits in the game. Bristol struck out eight over 4.2 innings of relief while allowing six runs, but only two of which were earned.