FOREST GROVE – A pair of Pacific University seniors playing their final games at Chuck Bafaro Stadium played key roles on Sunday afternoon as the Boxers defeated visiting Pacific Lutheran, 5-1, to conclude both teams' Northwest Conference baseball season.
 
Michael Arakaki finished the day going 4-for-5 with two triples, two runs driven in and a run scored to pace a 13-hit afternoon for the Boxers. The offensive effort made a winner of Matt Delegato, who won his eighth game in a row with his fifth complete-game effort. Delegato allowed one run on eight hits, walked two and struck out four to improve to 8-1 this season.
 
With the win, the Boxers secured for themselves a tie for fourth place in the NWC standings with the Lutes at 12-12. Pacific improved to 16-22 overall while the Lutes dropped to 22-15.
 
The Lutes appeared to have gotten to Delegato in the second, using a single by Carson McCord, a catcher's interference call and a walk to load the bases with two outs. Delegato managed to coax Clay Trushinsky into a flyout on the first pitch to quickly end the threat.
 
Pacific scored a single run in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings against PLU starter Trevor Lubking, who finally came out of the game after allowing four earned runs on 10 hits in six innings of work, took the loss and is now 8-3 for the season. AJ Konopaski pitched the final two innings, allowing one run while striking out two.
 
PLU erased Delegato's shutout in the eighth when Curtis Wildung walked, advanced to second on a single by McCord and scored on a double to right by Collin Nilson. Two batters later it appeared that Cory Nelson had found the gap in center field, but a diving catch left two runners in scoring position.

The Boxers would took the run back in the bottom of the eighth on outs and scored on Arakaki's second triple of the day.

PLU finished the game with eight hits, led by McCord with two.

Pacific Lutheran concludes its season next weekend with non-conference games against Linfield, Whitworth and Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho.

(Special thanks to Pacific Sports Information Office.)