<sted on Macalester pitching, totaling 25 runs on 31 hits en route to a sweep of the Scots, 10-5 and 15-2. Four players had at least four hits on the day, including rookie Alex Wirta ‘12 who also pitched four solid innings for the win in game two. Jay Melson ‘09 contributed a 4-hit, 6-RBI performance. With the victories, Carleton moved into sole possession of second place in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) standings.
The Knights (16-14, 8-4 MIAC) have now won 10 of their last 11 games, including consecutive sweeps during conference action for the first time since 1997. With 10 games remaining in the regular season, this year’s team now possesses the third-highest victory total in Carleton baseball history—which dates back to 1882—trailing only the 1991 conference championship squad (24-11) and the 1989 team (17-11).
The eight conference wins—with eight more still on the slate—already gives the Knights their best mark since 1997 (9-11 MIAC) and matches the squad’s fifth-best total since Carleton rejoined the conference in 1983.
It didn’t take long for the Knight bats to awake in game one, as Carleton scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back. Melson tripled home a pair to get the scoring started. The Knights tacked on two more runs in the fourth and another in the fifth, with the final three tallies coming in the sixth.
Southpaw Aaron Troyansky ‘10 tossed 6.0 innings for the win, giving him three victories in as many outings and improving his season record to 5-1. His win total is Carleton’s best since Tony LePage went 6-6 in 2003.
Erik Fabry ‘12 and David Ames ‘11 each had a trio of base knocks to pace the 16-hit attack in game one.
Carleton again started quickly in game two as Wirta smashed a two-out, three-run double in the opening frame. An inning later, Melson added a two-run homer to center as Carleton pushed four more runs across. It was his fourth roundtripper of the year. Melson later added two more RBI during a five-run fifth inning.
Clay Dewey-Valentine ‘12 was 3-for-4 as the Knights pounded out 15 hits in game two. Meanwhile, the Carleton pitchers kept the Scots off-balance. Wirta fanned six over 4.0 innings of mound work as he earned the win. Geoff King ‘10 and Jake Riss ‘09 combined on 3.0 scoreless frames to close out.
Carleton closes out the home portion of the regular season with Senior Day on Saturday, April 25. The Knights host the University of St. Thomas (22-7, 11-3 MIAC) in a matchup of the top two teams in the conference standings.
-Courtesy of Sports Information