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.)
