WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Pacific Lutheran retained its slim lead atop the Northwest Conference baseball standings with a 21-6 and 11-1 doubleheader sweep of Whitman College on a cold, windy and wet Friday afternoon at Borleske Stadium. 

Pacific Lutheran heads to Saturday's noon finale of the three-game weekend series with records of 9-2 in the NWC and 18-6 overall. Whitman slipped to 3-11 in conference and 3-22 on the season.

In Friday's second game, which started under clearing skies and ended with heavy rain, Whitman freshman John Nortz hooked up in a pitcher's duel with Pacific Lutheran senior Robert Bleecker.

Nortz blanked the Lutes on two hits through the first four innings before the visitors scored the game's first run with two outs in the fifth. Pacific Lutheran added two runs in the sixth, one of them on Josh Takayoshi's first home run of the season.   

The Lutes tacked on single runs in the seventh and eighth inning before pulling away with six runs in the ninth.

Nortz faced two batters in that final frame, giving up Jaron Iwakami's two-run home run, before giving way to the bullpen.

Meanwhile, Bleecker tossed nine strong innings, scattering three hits and five walks while fanning 13 to notch his fifth win of the season.

Whitman threatened in the second with runners on the corners with just one out. After Eric Korsmo led off the inning with a double and took third on a wild pitch, Jason Sease drew a base on balls. Bleecker escaped unharmed when the PLU infield turned an inning-ending double play.

Bleecker gave up his third hit of the game, and lost his shutout, when Eric Tolleson smacked his fourth home run of the season with one out in the bottom of the ninth.

Ben Shively had three hits to lead PLU's 16-hit offense. Iwakami, Takayoshi, Dan Johansen, Ryan Aratani and Corey Moore all had a pair of hits, and both Iwakami and Moore drove in three runs in the game.

The Lutes, who lead the NWC in hitting, took charge of the chilly, wind-blown opener with eight runs in the second inning. Takayoshi singled in two runs and Johansen doubled home two more to power the outburst.

PLU finished the first game with 23 hits, with Takayoshi and teammates Brock Gates and Moore finishing game one with four hits each and Sammy Davis adding three more. Moore collected five RBI to give him eight in the two games. 

Starter Trey Watt threw the first six innings for the Lutes, giving up one run on five hits to post his sixth win of the season without a defeat.

(Courtesy of Whitman Sports Information Office.)