Contact: Mark Albanese, Director of Sports Communication

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TACOMA, Wash. – The Pacific Lutheran University baseball team survived one elimination game on Saturday but wasn't so lucky in the second elimination game of the day, falling just shy of the championship game at the 2018 Northwest Conference Tournament at PLU Field. The top-seeded Lutes bested second-seed Linfield College 6-5 in the opening game of the day before falling 4-2 in the nightcap to third-seeded Willamette University to end their tournament run.

"We were productive at the plate against Linfield and had a lot of quality at bats throughout the lineup," said Head Coach Nolan Soete. "Cole Johnson and Alex Gregory did an excellent job on the mound. I thought Jacob Mortensen and Gregory threw well in game two as well. I'm proud of how my team battled this weekend."

The Lutes (23-16) wasted little time getting on the board against Linfield (22-16) in the first game of the day, pushing across two runs in the opening inning. With two outs Jacob Bockelie legged out an infield single to ignite the rally, later scoring on a Marques Carlson base hit. A Max Cummings single to left center plated starting pitcher Cole Johnson, giving host PLU the 2-0 cushion.

Bockelie doubled the Lute advantage in the fourth inning with a two-run home run blast, giving Pacific Lutheran a 4-0 buffer. The Wildcats came alive in the top of the fifth, plating three to close the gap to just one run.

PLU earned more separation in the fifth with a throwing error allowing Max Cummings to score while a Connor Cantu sacrifice fly brought in Tori Doten, giving the Lutes a 6-3 edge. Linfield attempted a late rally, capitalizing on a two-out throwing error in the ninth inning to plate a pair of runs but Alex Gregory induced a groundout to secure the win and net his fifth save of the season, eliminating Linfield in the process.

Gregory handled the final 2 2/3 innings for the Lutes, coming in in relief of Cole Johnson who fanned four batters in 6 1/3 innings of action.

In the nightcap against Willamette (25-15), the third-seeded Bearcats struck first, pushing across single scores in the first and third innings. PLU got on the board in the bottom of the third with Tori Doten belting a leadoff double. Adam Stump laid down a sacrifice bunt to push Doten to third before some savvy baserunning allowed Doten to sneak home on a double play ball, as the Lutes closed the gap to 2-1. A Matt Vick sacrifice fly tied the game in the fifth inning allowing Doten to touch home plate and the game remained tied at two until the Bearcats pushed across two runs with two outs in the top of the ninth to squeak out the win and advance to Sunday's championship game against fourth-seeded George Fox University.

The Lute pitching staff combined for six strikeouts in game two with Gregory again taking the mound and providing some long relief, handling the final 2 1/3 innings and taking over for Jacob Mortensen who allowed just two hits and no runs in 3 2/3 innings of action.

PLU returns to the diamond on Thursday night, squaring off against crosstown rival University of Puget Sound in a non-conference tilt at Cheney Stadium, home of the Tacoma Rainiers, the AAA affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m.