Written by Student Assistant Christian Bond

MCMINNVILLE, Ore. – The Pacific Lutheran University baseball team's offense struggled to find timely hits at the Northwest Conference Preseason Tournament on Saturday, with Whitman College outlasting the Lutes 4-3 to open the day before coming up short in a 5-2 setback to Whitworth University in the nightcap.

After giving up a run in the first and second inning of game one, Justin Armbruester settled in for the Lutes. The Freshman tossed five innings, striking out seven batters while walking just one. Jacob Mortensen came on in relief. Mortensen faces 16 batters over three innings, striking out one.

"Armbruester did a great job grinding through the early innings and he really finished strong," Head Coach Nolan Soete said. "Mortensen struggled in the seventh inning, but settled in and pitched better toward the end of the game."

The Lutes (1-6) were trailing 2-0 before Bockelie blasted a three-run home run over the right field fence in the fourth inning. Austin Gormley and Anthony Gosline scored on the long ball, giving the Lutes a 3-2 lead. Bockelie went one-for-four. Unfortunately for the Lutes, it was all the offense they would get in game one as the Blues (3-2) pushed across two runs in the seventh to secure the 4-3 win.

The trend continued in game two. The Lutes drove in their only RBI of the contest in the first inning. Marques Carlson drove in Gormley on single to center field. Gormley was solid in game two, drawing three walks. The Lutes second run came when Matt Vick scored on a wild pitch in the seventh inning. The Pirates (3-4) tallied two runs in the third while adding single scores in the fifth, sixth, and eighth innings to take the game.

"We weren't good enough offensively today," Soete said. "We struggled to come up with timely hits and didn't put together enough quality at bats. We're still working on finding a way to put all three phases of the game together."

Chad Gideon got the game two assignment on the hill for the Lutes. Gideon covered all eight innings, striking out two batters.

"Right now we are focused on playing a complete game. We have a lot of work to do, but we look forward to the challenge."

The Lutes close out the tournament tomorrow at 3 p.m. with a game against Linfield College.