Box Score In a worst-case scenario for Pacific Lutheran, the Puget Sound Loggers completed a three-game Northwest Conference sweep Sunday at Logger Field, downing the Lutes 6-3.
The Lutes fell to 13-9 overall, 6-6 in the NWC and now in fourth place, trail first-place Linfield by five games.
Pacific Lutheran's bats were silenced for the third consecutive game as Nathan Aguiar picked up his first win of the season, allowing three earned runs in 5 2/3 innings of work.
Lucas Stone picked up his second consecutive save throwing perfect eight and ninth innings.
Puget Sound got to PLU's starter Chris Bishop early scoring three runs in the second inning on a two-run double and a perfectly executed suicide squeeze. Puget Sound added a single run in the third on a throwing error and chipped on two more in the fourth with a pair of two-out RBI singles to chase Bishop.
Trailing 6-0 in the top of the fifth inning, the Lutes' bats showed the life they had been lacking the whole weekend to draw within three.
Garrett Brown plated Markus McClurkin, who doubled earlier, with a single up the middle. Alec Beal continued to be one of the Lutes' key offensive players, driving in Brown and Daniel Altchech to finish the rally.
After 2 1/3 shutout innings of relief by Nathan Shoup, and trailing 6-3, the Lutes gained all the momentum, loading the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh. But a groundout followed by two strikeouts ended the potential threat.
Shoup struck out one and gave up only a two-out bloop single in his final inning of work.
PLU put the pressure on the Loggers' staff again in the eight following leadoff singles by Collin Nilson and Drew Oord, but once again it left empty-handed after a strikeout and two groundouts.
AJ Konopaski allowed only one hit in his final two innings of relief. McClurkin and Altchech both went 2-for-4 and scored a run.
Riding a four-game skid, the Lutes host Saint Martin's next Monday in a non-conference doubleheader before Linfield comes to town March 6, for a three-game NWC matchup.
