PARKLAND - Pacific Lutheran completed its 2010 home baseball
schedule with a 10-6 Northwest Conference victory over the visiting
Lewis & Clark Pioneers Sunday afternoon.
The Lutes (30-7 overall, 18-3 NWC) finished a three-game sweep
to stay one game ahead of Linfield for the Northwest Conference
championship with a season-ending showdown between the two teams
slated for next weekend in McMinnville, Ore. The Pioneers finished
their season at 9-24 overall, 6-18 in Northwest Conference play.
Brock Gates led the Lutes with four hits and Dan Johansen set a
new PLU single-season record with his 65th hit of the season to
help give starter Scott Wall his sixth win of the season against
one defeat.
Lewis & Clark opened the scoring in the second inning when
Pioneer pitcher Eliot Smith led off with a single up the middle and
third baseman Jim Bray followed it up with a single to center.
After second baseman Zach Perez popped up to Ben Shively at third
base, Andrew Frisina drew a walk to load the bases. Catcher Geoff
Wertz brought home Smith with a sacrifice fly to left field, and
shortstop Guiseppe Baffaro drove Bray home with a bloop single
down the right field line.
The Lutes bounced back with three runs in the third. Catcher
Ethan Ottemiller walked to start the inning and Sammy Davis worked
a two-out walk to put runners at first and second. A single to left
by Josh Takayoshi scored Ottemiller to pull the Lutes to within
one. After Johansen reached on a fielding error to load the bases,
Aratani singled to give PLU the 3-2 lead.
Bafarro came through again for the Pioneers in the fourth, tying
the game with an RBI single to center field. His third and final
hit of the game came in the top of the sixth inning when the
shortstop doubled down the left field line to drive home Perez and
give the Pioneers their final lead of the game, 4-3.
Pacific Lutheran regained the lead for good in the bottom of the
sixth inning, rallying for three runs on four hits. Ryan Aratani
and Gates opened the inning with back-to-back doubles to tie the
game. With one out and runners at first and second, seniors Shively
and Carl Benton hit consecutive RBI singles to give PLU the 6-4
lead.
Four runs in the eighth inning broke the game open for Pacific
Lutheran. Ottemiller led off the inning with a double down the left
field line. Benton walked with one out and, with Ottemiller on
third, a pickoff attempt got past first base and allowed pinch
runner Jaron Iwakami to score. Sammy Davis hit an infield single,
and with two outs Johansen singled up the middle to drive home two
runs. After Aratani walked to put runners at first and second,
Gates singled to right for his fourth hit and second RBI of the
afternoon.
In the top of the ninth, pinch hitter Nate Grisham drilled a
one-out pitch over the left-center field fence for a two-run home
run to close out the scoring.
Wall pitched six innings, giving up six hits and three earned
runs. Pioneers starter Eliot Smith threw six innings, giving up
four earned runs on seven hits with five walks. Tucker Laurence and
David La Douceur each pitched an inning in relief, with La Douceur
giving up four PLU runs on four hits and a pair of walks. Nathan Eisenhauer pitched the final three innings for the Lutes to earn
his second save of the season.
Pacific Lutheran honored the six seniors on its roster - Benton,
Robert Bleecker, Paul DiPietro, Shively, Takayoshi and Trey Watt -
before the game. Excluding sophomore year transfers Benton and
Takayoshi, that group already goes into the record
book as the most successful in PLU history with a total of 120
wins and counting. They have a chance to win their third Northwest
Conference title when they visit Linfield next weekend.
- PLU -
