PARKLAND – Pinch runner Casey Dawes came in to score on a wild pitch with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth as the Pacific Lutheran baseball team claimed its second walk-off victory in two days with a 3-2 Northwest Conference win against No. 19 George Fox Sunday afternoon at PLU Field.

The win gave PLU a 2-1 series victory over the Bruins after the teams split Saturday's doubleheader and improved the Lutes' season record to 18-13 overall and 10-7 in conference play. George Fox fell to 24-8 overall and 14-7 in the NWC. The Lutes take to the road next week, visiting Saint Martin's for a Tuesday nonconference game at 3 p.m. before traveling to Portland for a three-game weekend series against Lewis & Clark on April 18-19. The Lutes visit Willamette on Sunday for a 1 p.m. makeup contest after the third game of their series against the Bearcats was rained out last month.

Derrick Mahlum struck out 11 Bruins over six innings, while allowing only one unearned run on four hits and three walks. AJ Konopaski picked up his second win in as many days, throwing the final three innings while allowing one run on two hits. Tom Zarosinki threw six innings for George Fox before giving way to Connor Harris, who took the loss to fall to 0-2 this season.

Drew Oord led PLU with two hits, including a double, and a walk, while Collin Nilson walked twice in the game and Tyler Thompson hit his first home run of the season in the fifth inning. Derek Blankenship tallied a pair of hits for the Bruins.

George Fox opened the game with a two-out rally, scoring one and leaving the bases loaded after Mahlum struck out the first two batters. Josh Rapacz reached on a PLU error and Derek Dixon struck out but reached first on a wild pitch before Zach Rapacz singled to center to bring his brother home. Zac Israel walked to load the bases, but Mahlum got Clay Mott to pop up to end the inning.

The Lutes took the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Thompson powered a homer over the wall in left field to lead off the inning, but the Lutes had four more hits to go in the frame. Ben Welch singled up the middle, but he was called out for interference on Landon Packard's single to second base. Alec Beal followed with a single, and Drew Oord doubled down the left field line to score Packard and give the Lutes a 2-1 lead. Nilson loaded the bases after being hit by a pitch, but Curtis Wildung struck out to end the inning.

Konopaski came in to pitch the seventh inning, and Kadyn Nannini opened the frame with a walk. Matthew Zeller bunted him to second, and Blankenship tied the game with an RBI single through the right side.

The score remained tied going into the bottom of the ninth, but at that point the Bruins pitchers began to struggle to find the strike zone. Harris walked Danny Altchech, and Dawes came in as a pinch runner. Nicholas Hall sacrificed him to second, and George Fox brought in Sean Eberhardt to pitch. Beal flew out to left field, and Eberhardt intentionally walked Oord to bring up Nilson. Nilson worked a walk to load the bases, and on a 1-2 count to Wildung, Eberhardt's pitch bounced low and outside in the turf away from Rapacz. Dawes charged in from third, and the Bruins had no play at the plate as Dawes slid in for the game-clinching score.