Written by Student Assistant Sarah Cornell-Maier

TACOMA, Wash. – The Pacific Lutheran University softball team opened its weekend series with Pacific University with a doubleheader split, downing the downing the Northwest Conference rivals 2-1 in the opener before falling 10-9 in a wild game two at PLU Field.

The Lutes (8-8, 3-3 NWC) opened their weekend with a low-scoring, gritty contest against Pacific (8-3, 2-1 NWC). After 5 1/3 scoreless innings, the Lutes got on the board after a Boxer throwing error in the bottom of the sixth allowed Madison Buhl and Samantha Simundson to score, giving the Lutes a 2-0 lead. The Boxers cut that lead in half after a sacrifice fly in the seventh. However, the Lutes managed to end the game on the very next play with a ground out to hand the Boxers their first conference loss of the season.

Bailey Plumb tallied two of the Lutes' four hits in the game while Marissa Miller earned the win inside the circle, pitching all seven innings and allowing just six hits and no walks.

"I think we didn't swing as well as we wanted to in the first game, and so I asked the players to swing harder and smarter on balls in the second game, and we did just that," head coach Brandi Gordon Bennett said. "Getting 17 hits is usually enough to win a ball game, but I feel confident that as long as we clean a few things up tomorrow we should be in good shape."

The Boxers opened the second game with a three-run first inning, putting the Lutes in a tough spot. They did not waver, though, as an Anna Overland single batted in a run in the first, and then Gabriella Moreno set off a five-run second inning with a single of her own. Samantha Simundson, Kennedy Robillard, Becca Sorensen and Overland each batted a run in as the Lutes took an early 6-3 lead.

The Boxers drew near with two runs in the third, but Kennedy Robillard earned two more RBIs with a double in the bottom of the inning to push the Lute lead to 8-5.

The scoring didn't stop there, though, as the Boxers managed to tie the game with a three-run double in the fourth inning. Moreno batted in her second run of the day in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead for the Lutes, but a fielder's choice in the bottom of the sixth inning allowed the Boxers to tie the game yet again.

From there, the Boxers were able to take the lead with an RBI-single in the seventh, and the Lutes were unable to tie despite putting a runner in scoring position with two outs, ultimately falling 10-9.

The Lutes three errors in the second-game stand out on the scoreboard, but coach Gordon Bennett is more concerned with the plays that don't show up on the stat-sheet.

"You don't really get mad at errors on hard hit shots," Gordon Bennett said. "At the same time, we had some easy balls that turned into missed plays, and I think that's kind of disappointing for us."

PLU cranked out 17 hits in game two with Robillard finishing four-for-five at the plate while Simundson and Overland both finished with three hits.

The Lutes left the field feeling frustrated with the close-defeat to end the day, but Gordon Bennett hopes that the team can regroup to finish the weekend with a strong, complete doubleheader.

"We've got a quick turnaround, so we're trying to stay focused on the good things we saw on the field today," Gordon Bennett said. "At the end of the day, we hit the ball pretty well, so we just need to replicate the good and forget about the bad tomorrow."

The Lutes take the field at noon as they look for two wins against the Boxers.