PARKLAND - Pacific Lutheran stayed atop the Northwest Conference
baseball leaderboard by sweeping the visiting Whitworth University
Pirates, 8-5 and 17-7, on Saturday afternoon.
The Lutes, now 22-6 for the season, improved their conference
mark to 12-2 with the twinbill sweep. Whitworth, meanwhile, drops
to 8-20 overall and 5-19 in the conference.
PLU had a big inning in the first game and had a pair of
five-run inning bookends in the second game in taking the two
victories.
In the opener, the Lutes scored six times in the bottom of the
fifth inning to break away from a 2-1 advantage. PLU got on the
board in the first when Dan Johansen hit a single to score Sammy Davis. After squandering a three-hit third inning, Whitworth tied
it with a run in the fourth when Kyle Krustangel led off with a
single and eventually scored on ground out by John Rausch.
The Lutes got one back in the fourth on Ben Shively's RBI
single, and they broke it open with their six-spot in the fifth.
Sammy Davis and Josh Takayoshi opened the frame with singles and
Davis scored when Whitworth misplayed Johansen's grounder. After
Ryan Aratani walked to load the bases, Takayoshi scored on a wild
pitch. Corey Moore hit a two-run single, Ben Shively ripped a
run-scoring double, and Jaron Iwakami finished the rally with a RBI
single.
Whitworth made a final run at the Lutes, scoring four times over
the final three innings. They got a run in the seventh on a double
play ground out, added another in the eighth on Landon Scott's
double and a ground out, and then tallied twice in the ninth on
Nick Combo's RBI double and Scott's run-scoring grounder.
Trey Watt improved his pirtching record to 7-0, allowing three
earned runs on 10 hits in eight innings. He walked two batters and
struck out seven, including six in a row in the fifth and sixth
innings. Nathan Eisenhauser pitched the final inning for the Lutes.
C.J. Perry took the loss and saw his record fall to 2-2. He
allowed eight runs, seven earned, on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.
James King allowed no runs on four hits in the final 3 2/3 innings.
Kevin Valerio had three hits and both Combo and Scott had a pair
for Whitworth, which finished with 12 hits. The Lutes also had 12
hits in the opener including three by Moore and two each by Iwakami
and Shively.
The second game was tied at 6-6 when PLU starting pitcher Robert Bleecker found a groove against the Pirates. While he was throwing
three straight innings of shutout baseball, his teammates were
breaking the game open with a total of 16 runs over a five-inning
stretch, including five runs in both the third and seventh frames.
The Lutes finished the game with 18 hits, including three by
Takayoshi and four each by Johansen and Aratani. The Lutes'
3-4-5 hitters accounted for 10 runs, 11 hits and 11 RBI between
them. Aratani scored four times and drove in five runs with a pair
of doubles and his first home run of the season. Johansen, who had
a double among his four hits, drove in three runs and scored
three, and Takayoshi had his third homer of the season and drove in
three and scored three.
Moore added two hits in the second game to give him 13 in 22 at
bats over the last five conference games. Takayoshi also has 13
hits and Johansen has 12 hits during that same five-game span.
Shively had two hits and drove in two runs in both ends of the
doubleheader.
Bleecker improved his record to 6-1, overcoming a shaky start to
go seven innings. He allowed six runs, four earned, on six hits
while walking one and fanning five. Max Beatty pitched the final
two innings, allowing the final Whitworth run.
Scott had a huge game for the Pirates with a single,
a triple and two home runs, his second and third of the
season. His first home run, coming with two outs in the first, made
a loud bang when it hit the metal scoreboard behind the fence in
right-centerfield. He scored three runs and drove in five in five
plate appearances. He collected four of the team's seven hits.
PLU and Whitworth close out their three-game conference series
with a single nine-inning game starting at noon on Sunday.
- PLU -
