After a tough 9–6 loss in 10 innings to Division II Minnesota-Duluth last Saturday, the baseball team found themselves victims of a five-inning no-hitter in the nightcap.

The Scots are now 2–4 on the young season as they prepare for their annual Spring Break trip to Ft. Myers, Florida.

The Scots jumped out to an early lead in game one when All-American second baseman Joel Brettingen '04 hit a two-RBI triple in the first inning before scoring on a groundout by Sam Polglase '05. Macalester tacked on one more run in the third inning from a Scott Bell '03 RBI single to go up 4–0.

Starting pitcher Marcus Turner '03 got off to a good start, but ran into trouble in the top of the fourth inning. After Nathan Cermak was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Tom Paitich cleared the bases with a double and then scored on an error by Macalester third baseman Sam Nalle '03 to bring the Bulldogs level. Two batters later, Greg Aker hit a two-run homer to put Duluth up 6–4.

However, after a frantic bottom of the fifth, the Scots were back on level terms with Duluth. Brettingen led off the inning with a base hit and advanced all the way to third after stealing second and advancing on a wild pitch. Polglase then drove him in with a base-hit. Marshall Mullenbach '03 came on as a pinch-runner for Polglase and promptly stole second before he was himself pinch-ran for by Kier Palmer-Klein '04. After a one-out base hit by Steve Derrington'04, Clark Boyesen '03 drove in the tying run on a groundout to first.

Relief pitcher Jacob Beckley '06 then got himself out of several jams to keep the game tied into extra innings. With two men on and one out in the top of the sixth, Beckley got the next two batters to fly out. In the seventh, Beckley put the first two batters on base before striking out Cermak. Beckley then benefitted from a great defensive play when Nalle, Brettingen and Derrington turned a nice 5-4-3 double play on Paitich.

Beckley then got out of another two-on, one-out jam in the eighth with the help of a 6-4-3 double play. In the top of the ninth, Duluth had runners on first and second with two outs after a balk and a hit batsman from Beckley. Erik Nelson '03 came on in relief and got a big out when he got Paitich to pop out to shortstop Andrew Percival '06, ending yet another Duluth threat.

As good as the Macalester bullpen was, Duluth's was even better. Luke Hagman, after coming on in the sixth inning, only surrendered two hits in five innings of work. Eventually, the Bulldog's bullpen would outlast the Scots' relief corps as Duluth scored three runs in the 10th on a Tim Battaglia bases-loaded triple. Hagman sealed the win for Duluth with a one-two-three bottom half as the Scots narrowly missed a chance to grab a win over a Division II squad.

Battaglia was the hero for Duluth in the nightcap as well as he pitched five no-hit innings before the game was ended due to time constraints and the Bulldogs winning 5–0.

Bell did not get much help from his defense in game two, giving up five runs—three of them unearned—in three innings of work.

The Scots will face a tough challenge to return to the MIAC playoffs for the first time since 2000. Last year, despite setting a team record with 22 wins and being equipped with one of the top offenses in Division III, the Scots were unlucky in some close conference battles and narrowly missed the playoffs. Despite graduating several important players in the infield and outfield, All-American Brettingen returns to lead the Scots' lineup. Brettingen, who hit .478 with 44 RBI and a .739 slugging percentage in 2002, is picking up right where he left off, hitting .438 in the young season. Co-captain Boyesen, one of the team's best contact hitters and perhaps their unsung hero on defense, returns at catcher. Derrington, Polglase and Josh Ortiz '05 will be the Scot'' first base platoon, while Palmer-Klein, Percival and Sam Khalidi '04 will split innings on the left side of the infield.

The Scots look strong in the outfield, as co-captain Bell, Paul Odegaard '04 and Mike Merrill '05, all strong hitters, fielders and runners, will fill in the starting spots.

On the hill, Macalester returns the core of its pitching staff. Co-captains Turner and Bell, the team's top two starters, return and are complimented by last year's win leader Derrington, Mullenbach and Nelson. Dieter Bower '03, Cormac Seely '05 and Erik Hankin '05 all look to get more innings this year, and first-years Beckley and Liam Bowen will give the bullpen valuable depth.

The Scots begin play in Ft. Myers on Saturday against Clarkson (N.Y.). The Scots will also face SUNY-Brockport, Suffolk (Mass.), MacMurray (Ill.), Sewanee (Tenn.), Messiah (Pa.) and Knox (Ill.) over spring break.

After a one-week break from games, the Scots are scheduled to begin conference play at home to St. John's on April 2, pending weather conditions.