PIPERS SWEEP SCOTS IN BASEBALL

The two teams entered the game with identical overall and conference records, but after a sweep by scores of 8-4 and 5-1 over Macalester College, the Hamline University baseball team continues to stay near the top of the MIAC standings.

Macalester opened the first game with a five-hit, four-run first inning, as they led off with a pair of singles and a pair of doubles.

Brett Bugielski (Fy., River Falls, Wis.) took over the Piper pitching duties in the second inning and Hamline’s offense took over the scoreboard in the third.

Tres Humerickhouse (So., Farmington, Minn.) helped the Pipers take advantage of two Macalester errors by knocking in three runs with a triple. J.D. Modrynski (So., Lakeville, Minn.) added an RBI single later in the inning to tie the game at 4-4.

The Pipers added a pair of runs in the fourth on a Macalester error followed by an RBI-double from Dan Kaczrowski (Sr., St. Anthony, Minn.) and a sacrifice fly from Lincoln Hughes (Jr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn.).

Hamline added another pair in the sixth as Bill Sand (Sr., White Bear Townshipship, Minn.) drive in two runs on a single. The Pipers tallied two hits in that inning as the Scots committed their fourth error of the game for the final 8-4 score.

Bugielski earned the win and upped his record to 5-1 as he threw the remaining six innings of the game. He struck out three batters and scattered three hits. James Murrey (Jr., Western Springs, Ill.) took the loss on the mound for Macalester, giving up five hits and striking out three batters.

Humerickhouse was 1-for-3 with a walk in getting the three RBI and scoring two runs. Kaczrowski was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI in the opener.

In game two it was the Pipers who struck first, scoring a run in the bottom of the opening inning. Macalester tied the game with a single run in the third.

The Pipers then scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 3-1 lead. They continued to build on their lead in the sixth. With two outs and runners on first and second, the Scots intentionally walked Kaczrowski to load the bases for Tony Rogers (So., St. Michael, Minn.). Rogers stepped up and drove in two runs with a double to the gap in left center for the 5-1 Hamline win.

Kaczrowski was 3-for-3 with two runs scored in game two to finish the day 5-for-7 at the plate. Rogers and Hughes both went 2-for-4 as they tallied all of the RBI for the team. Rogers had two RBI and Hughes drove in the other three Piper runs.

Matt Mullendore (So., Amery, Wis.) threw a four-hit complete game on the mound for the Pipers in game two, upping his record to 5-3 as he fanned five Scots and walked just one.

With just over a week remaining in the regular season, Hamline improves to 19-15, 10-6 MIAC and remains in the top four in the standings with the two-game sweep. The Scots are now at 17-17, 8-8 MIAC. The Pipers now head to Northfield on Wednesday, April 29, to take on St. Olaf at 2:30 p.m.