TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University baseball team hits the road this weekend as they fly to Seguin, Texas to play Texas Lutheran University in a four-game series.
 
Last weekend the Lutes (2-4, 0-3 NWC) opened up conference play down in Newberg as they were swept by preseason favorite George Fox University. The Lutes team fell 15-1 and 9-0 in the first two games before dropping a very close finale 5-4. Although the results were not what the Lutes were hoping for, there were some positives to take from the series and grow from.
 
"We learned that we have a lot of things to work on," said senior Dominick Zombik. "We know we are a good baseball team, and we know what mistakes we made on the weekend and how to fix them. We are using this series as a learning experience in order to grow. We took this rough weekend as a learning experience to see what aspects of the game we need to refine. We also proved to ourselves that we are willing to fight, after dropping the first two games of the series by 10+ runs we came out on Sunday and played some really good baseball."
 
Zombik already has an individual accomplishment for himself this season, as he recorded NWC player of the week for the Lutes two weeks ago.
 
"It came as a shock to me, honestly. I had a good weekend at the plate, but there are so many good hitters in the NWC, and on our team, that it is an honor to be recognized as the top performer of the week."
 
Zombik and the team are also bonded well on and off the diamond, with only a few players graduating last season.
 
"We only lost 4 Seniors last year, so our team is largely the same team we had last year, just with the addition of a large Freshman class. We have some really great team chemistry; we all respect each other and have fun on the field. This being my fourth year in college I feel like I can give a lot of useful information as well to the younger players on the team. We have a lot of younger classmen that are already very mature, but there is always room to learn. That shows how close we are as a team this year that our goal is to get better as a whole."
 
Zombik is also working hard off the diamond in his senior year as he prepares to graduate this spring.
 
"I am majoring in Communication with a focus on Strategic Communication. I have no plans set up yet, but I am hoping to get a PR & Marketing position. Coming from TCC into PLU I was still not sure what I wanted to pursue after college. I met with a counselor and she helped me realize that Marketing is what I wanted to pursue. I decided to get my Strat Comm major with a Marketing Minor because I felt that gave me some leeway if I did not end up getting attached to the Marketing field."
 
Outside of school and baseball, Zombik enjoys playing video games, hanging out with friends, and visiting family when possible.
 
Zombik and the Lutes are looking to bounce back as they travel to Seguin, Texas to face-off against Texas Lutheran University. The first game is on Thursday at 6 p.m. (CT), the second game on Friday at 6 p.m. (CT), before the doubleheader on Saturday with games starting at 12 p.m. (CT).
 
"Resetting mentally after a tough weekend is most important to bounce back against Texas Lutheran. We did not show what we are capable of against George Fox and traveling down to TLU we are able to get away from all distractions and just focus on baseball."

Feb. 27-29: PLU vs. Texas Lutheran in Seguin, Texas

Series History: The Lutes and Bulldogs have met three times since the series began in 2007 with TLU enjoying a 2-1 edge in the all-time series.

About the Bulldogs: Texas Lutheran (4-2) heads into the weekend riding a three-game win streak. Those wins came at the expense of in-state rival Hardin-Simmons University last weekend, collecting wins by 11-10, 16-3, and 6-5 scorelines.

Alex Cornman leads the Bulldogs with a .615 batting average with five extra base hits while Tyler Cauley boasts a .333 average with a team-best eight RBIs. Landon Weatherly has been the workhorse on the mound, tossing 13 innings with a 2.08 earned run average while Matthew Hickey has a team-best 13 strikeouts in two starts.