TACOMA, Wash. - It was a high-scoring day on Monday as the Pacific Lutheran University baseball team (19-13, 11-9 NWC) split their rescheduled games against Northwest Conference rival Pacific University. The Lutes ended on the wrong side of a 13-1 affair to open the day before smashing the Boxers 15-5 to win the series.

The Lutes (20-13, 12-9 NWC) had a rough first game, falling to the Boxers (20-16, 12-9 NWC) with the lone PLU run coming in the bottom of the 7th when Andy Schmitz singled and was driven in on a single from Michael Cesar. The Lutes struggled on the mound, giving up 13 runs on 17 hits while only striking out five.

Something happened in between the first and second game, however, and the Lutes came out swinging in game two, racking up the hits while maintaining a solid showing on the mound.

The Lutes struck first, with walks to Cesar and Max Cummings getting the first players on base, and the bases were loaded when Jordan Haworth was hit by a pitch.  A single from Tori Doten scored Cesar, and Cummings and Haworth scored on an error from Pacific, for a 3-0 lead.. 

The Boxers struck back hard, scoring five runs in the top of the third, but that was the entirety of their scoring in this game. In the bottom of the fourth, PLU took back the lead with a home run from Haworth, followed by Doten and Austin Gormley getting on base. Andy Schmitz hit a strong double to left that drove in both Doten and Gormley, giving the lead back to the Lutes.

In the bottom of the fifth, Jacob Bockelie was hit by a pitch to start the inning, and was advanced to second on a single from Cesar.  A sacrifice bunt from Cam Clem advanced both runners, and a single from Cummings drove Bockelie in to score. A walk to Doten loaded the bases, while a consecutive walk to Gormley drove in Cesar to take the Lutes to an 8-5 lead.

In the sixth, the Lutes struck hard and fast, with Marques Carlson hitting a home run off the shed in left field. Bockelie walked, and scored on a single from Clem, putting PLU up 10-5.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, PLU took their final offensive push against Pacific. Doten was hit by a pitch, and then three consecutive singles from Gormley, Schmitz, and Carlson not only loaded the bases but then drove in Doten as well. Bockelie then hit a sacrifice fly to center, driving in Gormley. Cesar came up to bat and stunned the pitcher by hitting a soaring home run to center, driving in Carlson and Schmitz and taking the Lutes to their winning 15-5 score.

"Game one today was tough. Pacific played well and put a beating on us," said Head Coach Nolan Soete. "I'm proud of how we responded in game two today. We had a lot of quality at bats. Schmitz, Carlson, Haworth and Cesar all had some big hits."

From the mound, aside from a small hiccup in the third the Lutes were dominant.  Starter Tommy Snyder struck out three over 2 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on four hits.  Jacob Mortensen came in in long relief for the Lutes and pitched the remaining 6 2/3 innings, allowing no runs on three hits while striking out four.  

"Whenever I'm put into the game, my job is to keep us in a situation where we have a chance to win," said Mortensen.  "As long as I'm doing my job well, my outing gets extended until I lose my effectiveness.  Today I was fortunate enough to keep the game close and our offense absolutely came alive.  Knowing they had my back gave me the confidence to go out and put the game away for good. This was truly a team effort and it's exactly what we needed heading into our final conference series against Willamette."

"Mortensen had his best outing of the year," said Soete. "It was a good team win."

The Lutes return to the field on Friday to take on the Bearcats of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.