SALEM, Ore. - Pacific Lutheran and Willamette split a Northwest Conference baseball doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, the Bearcats winning the opener, 6-4, before the Lutes came back to win the nightcap, 7-6 in 10 innings.

Willamette starter Brandon Simon allowed just one run on four hits in seven innings to earn the win in the first game. The Bearcats supported him and two relief pitchers with an 11-hit attack, including a solo homer from Max Stepan in the fourth inning and a two-run shot from T.C. Lee in the sixth.

The Lutes managed just seven total hits. They scored a run in the fifth inning on singles by Brock Gates and Ryan Frost, a walk to Dan Johansen, followed by Zack Halverson's sacrifice fly.

Trailing 6-1 entering the ninth, the Lutes made it interesting with three runs. Jacob Hoffman was hit by a pitch to lead off, moved to third on Corey Moore's single, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Gates. Ryan Aratani followed with a double, and Frost delivered two runs with a base hit.

Pacific Lutheran scored twice in the top of the 10th inning to defeat Willamette, 7-6, and earn a split of the twinbill. Jaron Iwakami hit an run-scoring single to right field to bring in the go-ahead run, and Corey Moore's infield single drove in the second run.

Willamette scored once in the bottom of the 10th and had runners at first and third when Frost, on in relief of starter Johansen, coaxed a fielder's choice at second base to end the game.

Johansen pitched the first nine innings and threw 128 pitches, while allowing five runs, two earned, on eight hits. He improved to 2-1 for the season. Frost threw the 10th inning for the Lutes to earn his first save of the season.

PLU pounded out 17 hits in the game, including three each by Hoffman, Moore and Gates, and two each by Aratani and Jaron Iwakami.

The Lutes scored a run in the third when Iwakami walked, stole second and then came home on a Gates base hit. They added a run in the sixth when Aratani hit a double and later scored on a two-out single by Ryan Boyles.

Aratani had the big blow in PLU's three-run seventh, drilling a homer with Moore and Gates on base following base hits.

Pacific Lutheran let the Bearcats back in the game in the late innings, however, committing all four of its errors in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings when the hosts scored four times to tie the score and send it to extra innings.

The teams conclude their conference series with a nine-inning game starting at noon on Sunday.

- PLU -