TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University baseball team bashed four home runs and pounded out 19 hits on Sunday, securing a doubleheader split against crosstown rival University of Puget Sound. The Lutes fell 8-4 in the opener before steamrolling the Loggers 11-0 in the weekend rubbermatch.
In the opener, the Lutes (4-3) cranked out seven hits but their hopes were torpedoed after surrendering a five-run fourth inning.
The host Logggers (4-2) struck first, plating a run in the bottom of the second. The Lutes answered in the top of the third with
Jordan Haworth blasting a home run over the left field fence to score
Andy Schmitz for the 2-1 lead.
PLU conceded five runs in the fourth inning, including a bases clearing double as Puget Sound reclaimed the lead 6-2. Another Haworth two-run home run closed the gap to 6-4 in the fifth but that was all the offense the Lutes could muster with UPS piling on two insurance runs in the seventh for the 8-4 win.
Haworth generated all four runs for the Lutes, blasting two home runs in his three at-bats. Schmitz tallied a pair of hits and scored a run while
Tori Doten scored a run.
Tommy Snyder struck out five innings in 3 2/3 innings of work while
Noah Ferguson tossed four innings, allowing just two hits and striking out six. As a staff, Snyder, Ferguson, and Howell combined for 12 punchouts.
"Game one was a little rough on the mound and defensively," said Head Coach
Nolan Soete. "We weren't working ahead on the mound and we had a couple of opportunities to make a defensive play to help out our pitcher and we just didn't get the job done."
The Lutes wasted little time asserting their dominance in game two, pouring on three runs in the opening inning.
Cole Trotignon doubled in
Tori Doten to open the scoring with an
Ashton Barton single to left field scoring both
Austin Gormley and Trotignon.
Trotignon was at it again in the third inning with a solo home run while in the fourth
Sean Kauffman belted a two-run home run, also plating
Kenton Robillard.
The floodgates remained open in the fifth with RBI singles from Barton and Doten, an RBI hit by pitch drawn by Haworth, and a Trotignon double that scored a pair of runs, expanding the PLU lead to 11-0.
Trotignon finished three-for-four at the plate with four RBIs while Barton was three-for-four with three RBIs. Kauffman had a pair of hits, finishing two-for-three with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Trotignon additionally claimed the win on the hill, going the distance with a complete game shutout. The righthander struck out seven and allowed just four hits and one walk.
"Game two, Trotignon set the tone on the mound by pounding the strike zone with three pitches. We were able to jump on them early and never looked back. Trotignon, Kauffmanm and Haworth all had a good day at the plate."
PLU took the series win by virtue of a 14-5 win on Friday. The Lutes outscored the Loggers by a combined 29-13 scoreline over the weekend.
The Lutes open up Northwest Conference play next weekend, hosting Pacific University in a four-game weekend series that starts on Saturday at 11 a.m.
