TACOMA, Wash. - After a grueling and wet weekend of competition against the visiting Bruins of George Fox University, the Pacific Lutheran University Baseball team came out victorious in the series, clinching a close game with a final score of 7-6.

The game started out slow, with very little action happening on either side for the first three innings.  The Bruins took an early lead In the top of the third, getting a single run to start out the scoring for the game.  

The Lutes decided to answer that run with three of their own.  Walks to Jordan Haworth, Max Cummings, and Marques Carlson loaded the bases, and first-year Andy Schmitz came up to the plate ready to drive in his teammates.  Schmitz hit a strong single under the glove of the first baseman through to right field, bringing both Haworth and Cummings across home plate. Tori Doten was then hit by a pitch, reloading the bases for a Michael Cesar sacrifice groundout to drive in Carlson. By the end of the 3rd inning, the Lutes has jumped in front of the Bruins 3-1.

"Playing with veterans day-in and day-out has personally given me more confidence at the plate and in the field," said Schmitz.   "Having good leaders on the field and a knowledgeable coaching staff in the dugout has given us a team oriented approach that has led us to success thus far."

The Bruins got another run in the top of the fourth, but the Lutes leapt forward even more in the bottom of the fourth with even more help from Schmitz's hot-hitting bat.  Haworth was walked again to start the inning, and Jacob Bockelie singled to move Haworth to third.  A fielding error off the bat of Cummings not only got him on base, but drove in Haworth as well.  Schmitz then came up to the plate and, in a fashion we all hope is going to become a common occurrence, smashed a double through a giant gap in left center to drive in both Bockelie and Cummings, taking him to 3 RBIs on the day. The Lutes doubled their score from the last inning, taking over the game with a 6-2 lead.

Adding onto this lead, the Lutes started off the bottom of the fifth with two outs.  Yet again, Haworth was walked and put on base for the bat of Bockelie, who smashed a single to right center that drove Haworth in to score.  The Lutes took a 7-2 lead going into the 6th inning.

George Fox gained runs back in both the 7th and 8th innings, but it was not enough to overcome the lead the Lutes had garnered. Strong closing from first-year Matt Franceschina helped the Lutes hold onto their lead, striking out one batter and giving up 0 hits to keep the Lutes on top.

"Today was a good team win against a very talented well-coached team. Tommy Snyder threw well today and we had a lot of quality at bats. Matt Franceschina did a great job closing it out," said Head Coach Nolan Soete.

The Lutes return to PLU field on Tuesday February 26 to take on crosstown rivals University of Puget Sound in a non-conference showdown. The game starts at 3 p.m.

"Throughout the weekend, we made impressive strides as a team," said Schmitz.  "While we're still hungry to improve, we played well overall and we were able to win the series against a tough opponent. We look forward to carrying our momentum from this series into the rest of conference play. "