ST. PAUL, Minn. – The St. Olaf College baseball team was swept by Macalester College in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) opener on Saturday, losing by scores of 17-10 and 8-7 at Nicholson Field.

St. Olaf (5-13, 0-2 MIAC) led 10-3 in the sixth inning of game one before Macalester (12-7, 2-0 MIAC) scored 14 runs in the sixth to reverse the seven-run deficit. In game two, the Oles rallied from a 7-2 deficit to tie the game with a five-run sixth inning, but the Scots scored an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth and went on to complete their first sweep of St. Olaf since 2018.

The Oles are scheduled to host Gustavus Adolphus College in their home opener on Wednesday, April 1. The doubleheader is slated to start at 2:30 p.m. at Mark Almli Field.

Macalester 17, St. Olaf 10 | Box Score

St. Olaf scored 10 runs over the first four innings and carried a 10-3 lead into the bottom of the sixth before Macalester scored 14 runs to turn the seven-run deficit into a seven-run lead. The Scots held the Oles scoreless after the fourth inning after the 10 early runs.

The top-six spots in St. Olaf's batting order all had multiple hits in the loss, with junior Kanen Kreafle going 3-for-4 as the lone Ole with three hits. Senior Henry Black was 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored, and four RBI, while classmate Frank Lavin was 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs scored, and two RBI.

Senior Kevin Steel allowed just one earned run (three runs total) over the first 5.0 innings before the Scots got to St. Olaf's bullpen in the sixth. Steel yielded eight hits and threw walks with four strikeouts in a no-decision.

The Oles put a four-spot on the board in the top of the first, scoring four runs after sending just four batters to the plate. After first year Dex Pudduck drew a walk and senior Mason Buck doubled to put two runners in scoring position, Black singled up the middle to bring in both runners. Two pitches later, Lavin homered over the extra-tall wall in left field for his third home run of the season to make it 4-0.

After Macalester got one run back in the bottom of the second, the Oles tallied two runs in the top of the third to build a 6-1 cushion. Senior Breckin Hadley knocked in the first run of the frame with a sacrifice fly before first year Lucas Pusterla doubled to deep center to bring in another.

The Scots got the two runs back in the bottom of the third, but the Oles responded with four runs in the top of the fourth to go up by a 10-3 margin. After Buck drew a leadoff walk, Black blasted a two-run shot to right for his first homer of the season. Following a pitching change, St. Olaf got three singles to load the bases and, after a strikeout, Hadley singled through the right side to score two.

Things unraveled quickly for the Oles in the bottom of the sixth, as the Scots scored 14 runs on eight hits and six walks in the inning, highlighted by a tie-breaking grand slam from Raymond McCaskey.

Macalester 8, St. Olaf 7 | Box Score

After falling behind by five, St. Olaf tallied five runs in the sixth to tie the game at 7-7 but left two runners on scoring position in that inning before falling by a single run late. Macalester took advantage of a leadoff error in the bottom of the eighth to scratch across the winning run.

Black had another two-hit game for St. Olaf, going 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and three runs scored. Junior Cole Pleimann was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI, while Hadley and Pusterla also picked up two hits apiece.

Sophomore Josiah Utsch and junior Jack Nord combined to throw 3.2 innings of shutout relief as the Oles mounted their comeback that ultimately came up short. Utsch struck out four over 2.2 innings of work before Nord walked the bases loaded but got out of the inning unscathed in the seventh.

Pleimann plated the first run of the game with a two-out single in the top of the first, but Macalester quickly erased the deficit with a run in the bottom of the inning. Doubles from Black and Pleimann in the top of the third gave the Oles a one-run lead again, only for the Scots to score twice in the next half inning to take a 3-2 lead.

Macalester extended its lead to 7-2 with four runs in the bottom of the fourth before Utsch settled things down on the mound for St. Olaf. In the top of the sixth, the Oles loaded the bases with one out for Lavin, who reached on an error that allowed two runs to score. First year Neil Sevigny and Kreafle followed with run-scoring singles to make it a one-run game for Hadley, who tied it with an RBI double to right. Hadley's double left runners on second and third with one out, but St. Olaf was unable to break the tie.

Pudduck doubled to start the top of the seventh but was erased at third on a fielder's choice. Nord got a fielder's choice ground out to put up a zero in the bottom of the seven, but an error, a sacrifice bunt, and a single led to the winning run for the Scots in the eighth. Pudduck reached on a two-out error and got to second on a wild pitch in the ninth before a ground out ended the game.