TACOMA, Wash. - Cody Bentley drove in six runs on Saturday afternoon, powering the Pacific Lutheran University baseball team to a doubleheader sweep of Northwest Conference rival University of Puget Sound. The Lutes rallied to a 7-2 win in the opener before taking the nightcap 11-4 in the home opener at PLU Field.
 
The crosstown Loggers (4-11, 1-7 NWC) drew first blood in the opener, plating a pair of runs in the first inning. The Lutes (6-6, 2-3 NWC) bit into the UPS lead in the second with Cody Bentley reaching base on an infield single before scoring on a wild pitch.
 
Bentley was at it again in the third inning, blasting a bases loaded double to left center field, giving the Lutes the 4-2 advantage. Pacific Lutheran's advantage swelled to 7-2 in the eighth with Andy Schmitz singling in Kenton Robillard before Tori Doten doubled down the line to bring in two more.
 
Tommy Snyder picked up the win, logging 7 2/3 innings on the mound and striking out five. Alex Gregory closed the door on the Loggers, recording the final four outs of the game. The junior racked up two strikeouts to secure his NWC-leading fifth save of the season.
 
Bentley paced the Lutes at the plate, finishing the opener two-for-three with three RBIs while Schmitz and Doten both collected a pair of hits.
 
Puget Sound pushed across a run in the top of the first in game two but the lead proved fleeting with PLU plating two in the bottom of the inning. A Jordan Haworth single tied the game before a wild pitch allowed Cameron Clem to score for the 2-1 lead. 
 
PLU tacked on two more in the fourth, getting RBIs from Chase Lariza and Dominick Zombik before Lariza drove in another run in the fifth, giving the Lutes the 5-1 advantage. 
 
The Loggers close the gap to just two runs in the top of the sixth but PLu more than answered the call, erupting for five runs in the sixth inning. Haworth drew a bases loaded walk to score Robillard for the inning's first score before Bentley cleared the bases with a three-RBI double to left field. Armond Swanson III added an exclamation point on the inning, scoring Bentley on a single to right center field. 
 
Alex Boyd would push across PLU's 11th run in the eighth inning, singling up the middle to score pinch-runner Sean Kauffman.
 
Bentley and Lariza both finished game two with three RBIs. Haworth was two-for-four at the plate with two RBIs and two runs score while Clem had a pair of hits and scored a pair of runs.
 
Justin Tucker earned the win on the hill, striking out four in 5 2/3 innings of work. Jacob Mortensen tossed 1 1/3 innings of scoreless ball while Janson Pederson struck out three over the final two innings to preserve the sweep.
 
"It feels great! We had a tough first weekend out for NWC play but it feels good to get the first two for sure," said Zombik. "We did a really good job punching them in the mouth when they scored and that's what we're going to do tomorrow."
 
The Lutes and Loggers are back on the diamond tomorrow with first pitch slated for 12 p.m.