HILLSBORO, Ore. – Late runs by Willamette and George Fox made the difference as the Pacific Lutheran baseball team opened the 2016 season Friday falling 4-1 to the Bearcats and 9-8 to the Bruins at Ron Tonkin Field.

Kyle Rossman allowed one run in the first inning of the opener before shutting down the Willamette offense for the rest of his start, finishing his season debut with seven strikeouts and only two hits allowed in six innings.

"Kyle really threw well today," PLU head coach Nolan Soete said. "He had a rough first inning but made some adjustments and looked like an ace the rest of the way."

Rossman left with the game tied 1-1, but Willamette broke through for three runs against the PLU bullpen to clinch the opener. The Lutes' second game was a back-and-forth affair with four lead changes throughout.

George Fox scored two to start the game, but PLU responded with three in the bottom of the second. The Bruins reclaimed the lead with four runs in the top of the third, but two runs for the Lutes pulled PLU within one in the bottom of the inning. PLU scored twice more in the bottom of the fourth to take a 7-6 lead and added another run in the fifth, but the Bruins picked up three in the top of the eighth to clinch the one-run win.

Brett Johnson led the PLU offense with five hits between the two games, including a double, driving in three runs on the day. Frank Airey also drove in three runs with a pair of hits and a walk, and Connor Cantu reached base six times via two hits, three walks and one hit-by-pitch. Ben Welch tallied three hits and stole a pair of bases in the games.

"Brett had a good day at the plate with the five hits, and Frank did really well all day behind the plate," Soete said.

The Lutes return to action Saturday evening, as they take on Pacific at 5 p.m. at Ron Tonkin Field.