TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University baseball team experienced mixed results in the home opener against Division II Saint Martin's University on Saturday. The Lutes fell 15-3 in game one before exacting revenge in game two, collecting the 8-5 victory to salvage the split.
The Saints (1-6) drew first blood in the top of the second inning in game one, plating three on a bases clearing triple before adding two more to stake a 5-0 advantage.
The Lutes (4-1) put a dent in SMU's lead in the bottom of the third with an
Andy Schmitz RBI double, scoring
Braeden Lundberg who opened the inning with a leadoff double but the Saints quickly answered with three more runs in the fourth.
St. Martin's pushed its lead to 9-1 in the fifth and poured on six more in the ninth. PLU generated a pair of sacrifice flies from
Connor Lemma and
Garrett Wong but it was too little too late for the Lutes.
Braeden Lundberg paced the Lutes in the opener, going three-of-four at the plate while scoring one run.
Cole Trotignon absorbed the decision on the mound, tossing four innings and striking out two.
PLU flipped the script in game two, getting ahead early and holding on for the split.
A Saint Martin's error allowed Lemma to score in the bottom of the second in game two. A
Sean Kauffman sac fly doubled the Lute edge in the third before
Jordan Haworth belted a solo home run for the 3-0 edge after three innings.
St. Martin's got on the board in the fifth with a two-run home run but the Lutes didn't back down with
Tori Doten going yard in the bottom half of the frame, plating three on the home run blast to left field.
SMU added a run in the seventh but PLU countered in the bottom of the seventh with Lundberg driving in Doten on a single to right field.
The Saints scored twice in the eighth, closing the gap to 7-5 before a Trotignon sac fly in the eighth bumped the lead back up to three runs in what proved to be the final run of the day.
Noah Ferguson earned the win on the hill, striking out three in 2 1/3 innings of middle relief.
Jonathan Cohen made the start, going 4 2/3 innings and striking out five.
Alex Gregory closed out the game, tossing the final two innings.
Doten led the Lutes at the plate in game two, going two-for-three with three RBIs and two runs scored. Haworth, Lemma, and Lundberg all finished with multiple hits in the nightcap.
"The first game was rough. We didn't play well in any phase of the game," said Head Coach
Nolan Soete.
"St. Martin's did a great job making us pay for our mistakes. It was good to see the team bounce back in game two. We had a lot of quality at bats.
Braeden Lundberg had a heck of a day and
Tori Doten had a huge three-run home run late in the game to help seal the deal."
The Lutes open Northwest Conference play next Saturday, trekking to Forest Grove, Oregon for a three-game series against preseason favorite Pacific University. Saturday's twinbill is slated for 11 a.m. with Sunday's finale set for noon.
