By Jake Bilyeu, PLU Sports Information Student Writer
PARKLAND – A pair of Northwest Conference softball doubleheaders went to extra innings Saturday afternoon, as the Lutes hosted Lewis & Clark in their first home games of the season. Lewis & Clark scored in the eighth to win the opener 3-2, while the exciting second game ran into darkness after eight innings of play with the game still tied 3-3. The game was suspended and will be resumed at 11 a.m. Sunday, with the regularly scheduled doubleheader following.
"At times played well," PLU head coach Lance Glasoe said. "But we lacked consistent focus on offense and defense."
PLU got on the board first in the opener, scoring two runs in the bottom of the second inning after a leadoff walk by Amanda Hartley and a single from Elli Rassbach got the offense going. Thalen Masada brought home the first run with an infield groundout, while Anna Overland made it 2-0 with an RBI single. Ateisha Norton picked up the Pioneers' first run of the game in the top of the third, and Lewis & Clark tied it with an RBI single in the top of the sixth.
The Lutes had their best chance to reclaim the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Becca Sorensen and Masada walked to put two on with one out, but the Lewis & Clark second baseman snagged a hard line drive off the bat of Overland and caught Masada for an inning-ending double play. Lewis & Clark picked up the eventual game-winner in the top of the eighth, as a leadoff double came in to score on a two-out single to right. Rassbach singled with two outs in the bottom of the inning, and pinch hitter Alison Behrends stole second to put the tying run in scoring position, but a full-count strikeout sealed the win for the visiting Pioneers.
"Anyone can beat anyone in this conference," Glasoe said. "Our focus is necessary, and we need to create more good stretches.
Both sides opened the second game with a run in the first inning, with the Lutes getting a home run from Overland. The Pioneers took advantage of PLU errors to score each of their three runs heading into the extra innings, scoring once in the first, third and fifth innings.
The Lutes responded in the bottom of the fifth inning after trailing 3-1, as a pair of bunt hits and some Lewis & Clark fielding miscues allowed Jessica Wallace and Emily McConnell to score and tie the game at 3-3. The game remained tied into the bottom of the seventh, when McConnell appeared to give the Lutes the win by scoring from second on an errant throw on her stolen base. However, a substitution error by the Lutes caused the run to be called off. While McConnell still managed to steal her way to third on back-to-back pitches, the Lutes were unable to bring her home and the second game continued to extra innings. After one more frame and with darkness setting in, the umpires decided to suspend the game until Sunday morning.
"We're going to stick with what we've got," Glasoe said. "This just means we've got one more game to win tomorrow."
