PORTLAND, Ore. - It was a tale of two games for the Pacific Lutheran University softball team on Saturday afternoon, opening Northwest Conference play with a doubleheader split against host Lewis & Clark College. The Lutes cranked out 14 hits in an 11-2 victory in the opener before allowing five runs in the sixth inning in a 6-3 setback in the nightcap.

In the opener, the host Pioneers (3-3, 1-1 NWC) struck first, pushing across a run in the bottom of the first but it was all Lutes (9-4, 1-1 NWC) after that. PLU seized the lead in the second inning with Bailey Plumb doubling in a pair of runs for the 2-1 lead.

The Lutes kept the foot on the gas in the third inning, scoring four more runs. Marley Dyer drove in the first run on a single through the left side while Sydney Victor plated two on a double to left field. Kennedy Robillard brought in Chaella Galapon later in the frame, boosting the PLU advantage to 6-1.

Robillard drove in another run in the fourth while a Pio error allowed Dyer to score in the fifth. PLU's ballooned by three more runs in the sixth with RBIs from Samantha Simundson, Victor, and Dyer en route to the 11-2 mercy rule win.

Six Lutes finished the day with two hits including Victor who also drove in three runs.

Robillard earned the win in the circle, allowing just six hits for her fourth complete game of the season.

In game two, Galapon plated Plumb in the top of the first to take an early 1-0 lead before Lewis & Clark tied the game with a run of its own in the third. Elise Freund brought in two runs in the sixth to reclaim the lead but the Pios answered with five runs in the bottom of the sixth, including three unearned runs to snap the Lutes' six game win streak.

The Lute bats went cold in the nightcap, managing just three hits while committing four errors. Z Ellis struck out five and allowed just two earned runs but was tagged with the decision after pitching all six innings.

"We're looking forward to tomorrow and to be more aggressive at the plate," said Head Coach Traci Barrett. "Game two didn't turn out the way we wanted it to, but a good reminder that we have to keep it simple, pitch to pitch. Z pitched a good enough game to end with a W but we just weren't able to make that happen."

The Lutes and Pioneers finish off the series tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m.