TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University baseball team returns home this weekend to play the first home Northwest Conference series of the season against crosstown rival University of Puget Sound. 
 
Last weekend the Lutes (4-6, 0-3 NWC) traveled south to Seguin, Texas to play nationally-ranked Texas Lutheran University (6-4). PLU dropped the first two games of the series 2-1 and 6-2 before waking up the bats and taking the final two games 5-2 and 17-9, to split the series with the Bulldogs. 
 
"Our team really grew throughout the TLU Series especially after the first two losses", said sophomore Jordan Haworth. "We got together as players and talked about who we are, and what it means to be a part of PLU baseball, and I think that contributed a lot into our two wins the following day on TLU's home turf."
 
There are many positives that the team can take from the trip to Texas, with distinct areas to build on for upcoming NWC action.
 
"Some positives we can take away from our series at TLU are that we can be a really good team, but we can also be a really bad team. We know we have it in us, and we've proven ourselves, we just have to continue the grind and continue outworking our opponents and having confidence in ourselves. When we can do that I think it is going to be a pretty exciting season."
 
Haworth also was recognized as NWC Hitter of the Week with a .600 batting average including four extra base hits and six RBIs. 
 
"I was very humbled to be selected as NWC Hitter of the Week, especially this early in the season. It's an honor but by no means am I satisfied, my main focus is to keep playing well every weekend and continue doing whatever I can to help my team win."
 
With so many new players on the team this year, building team chemistry has been a key focus for the team.
 
"Our team chemistry is completely different than last year, we have a lot of new faces, but we're growing closer every weekend and playing better together every game. We're figuring out our strengths as a group and can utilize those to win games. This leads to my favorite part of being able to play PLU baseball, which is definitely my teammates. I've made some amazing friendships with the guys that extend far beyond the diamond. Being able to play baseball with these guys is something I look forward to every day."
 
Haworth is not only busy tearing it up on the diamond, but also in the classroom in his sophomore year at PLU.

"I'm a nursing major here at PLU, and my main focus is to do well in my classes in order to graduate and give myself the option later of going to grad school if I decide that route. Other than that, I'm just focused on graduating and becoming a nurse."

"I honestly didn't decide I wanted to go into nursing until halfway through my senior year of high school after being around nurses a lot that year in hospitals for family reasons. But I was really attracted to the number of fields nursing has and the fact that you can help people every day which was something that was important to me in my profession. I'm currently a sophomore 2 in the program, and I'm very happy with my choice and ecstatic for the future."
 
Haworth is also very busy outside of baseball and school responsibilities with many hobbies and activities that he likes to pursue.
 
"Outside of school and baseball I love pretty much anything outdoors. I'm a big fan of downhill snow skiing, mountain biking, hiking, and being on the water along with many other things and am planning some backpacking trips this summer. My friends and family are also a big part of my life as well as my Border Collie Macie back home."  
 
The Lutes are back in action at home this weekend as they square-off against the Loggers of UPS in a three-game series. First pitch of game one is at 11 a.m. on Saturday with the second game directly after at 2 p.m. and the final game on Sunday at 12 p.m.
 
"Preparing for this weekend's matchup against UPS, we need to build off of our TLU series, bring that confidence and energy we had in the last two games home and pick up where we left off. Our games against our rival UPS are always close, high energy games, and we can't take any aspect of the game lightly. We are going to have a solid week of practice leading into the weekend and were excited to take them on."
 
Mar. 7: PLU vs. Puget Sound (DH) at PLU Field (11 a.m.)
Mar. 8: PLU vs. Puget Sound at PLU Field (12 p.m.)
 
Series History: The Lutes and Loggers have met 142 times on the diamond since 1980 with PLU holding an 88-53-1 advantage in the series. The two squads met five times last season with the Lutes winning four of those meetings. 
 
About the Loggers: Puget Sound (4-9, 1-5 NWC) heads across town having dropped six of its last seven games, including a three-game sweep at the hands of George Fox. 
 
The Loggers opened the GFU series last weekend by falling 12-1 to the Bruins before dropping games two and three in the series by identical 7-5 scores. 
 
Mason Quinlan is the Loggers' top hitter, sporting a .415 average with 13 RBIs. Hunter Riley has racked up 13 RBIs while leading the team with eight extra base hits.