McMINNVILLE, Ore. - Pacific Lutheran gave up the winning runs in
the ninth inning of its first game on Sunday and then scored
the game decider in the ninth inning of the second
contest as it split two a pair of baseball games at the Jim Doran
Auto Classic hosted by Linfield College.
Puget Sound scored five runs in the ninth inning to rally
for an 8-5 victory over PLU in an afternoon contest. Later, in a
game that ended at 9:55 p.m., Pacific Lutheran scored the winning
run in the top of the ninth to defeat Corban College, 12-11. PLU
finished the tournament with a 2-1 record and is now 9-1 for the
season.
The UPS Loggers (4-4) overcame a two-run deficit with their big
ninth inning output, which came against PLU closer Ryan Frost.
Puget Sound managed only three hits in the frame but also took
advantage of two walks and a wild pitch.
Pacific Lutheran used the long ball to build a 5-1
lead through three innings. Brock Gates hit his sixth homer of the
season for the first run in the bottom of the second and Ben Shively added a three-run shot, his first homer of the campaign, in
the bottom of the third. Dan Johansen added an sacrifice fly
for the Lutes' other run.
The Lutes left two runners stranded in the fourth and three
more on base in the fifth inning, and their inability to play
add on ended up making a difference as they suffered their
first loss of the season.
PLU finished the game with 12 hits, led by Sammy Davis with
three and Josh Takayoshi, Carl Benton and Shively with two apiece.
Scott Wall was the PLU starter, allowing three runs, two earned,
on six hits in 6 2/3 innings. Wall, making his third start of the
season, walked three and struck out two. Frost took the loss and is
0-1 for the season.
Relievers Nathan Aguiar and Matt Robinson combined to allow no
runs on six hits in the final 6 1/3 innings for the Loggers.
Robinson picked up the victory to improve his season record to 3-0.
In the second game, the Lutes tallied the winning run when Ryan Aratani hit a single into rightfield to score Dan Johansen, who had
reached base on his fourth hit of the contest. Johansen hit
his second home run of the season in the first inning for
PLU and finished with three runs scored and three runs batted in.
Davis had his second three-hit game of the day and Benton also had
three hits for the Lutes. Shively and Aratani both had a pair of
hits as the Lutes pounded out 18 safeties in the second game.
Paul DiPietro (1-0) picked up the win in relief for the Lutes,
allowing just one hit while striking out three in two innings of
work. Nic Delikat, pitching in relief to start the bottom of
the ninth, allowed a two-out single and hit the next batter
but got a strikeout to end it for his first save of the
season.
Pacific Lutheran opens Northwest Conference play next weekend
when it hosts the George Fox Bruins in a three-game series. The
Lutes and Bruins, who shared the 2009 conference championship, play
a pair of nine-inning games starting at 11 a.m. Saturday and then
conclude the series with a nine-inning contest beginning at 11 a.m.
Sunday.
- PLU -
