LA VERNE, Calif. – After taking both games over nationally-ranked California Lutheran University, the Pacific Lutheran University baseball team split a doubleheader with the University of La Verne on Saturday to wrap up their road trip in California with a 3-1 record.
Game 1
PLU won its third straight in the opening game of the day against the Leopards.
Spencer Howell improved to 3-0 on the season as he dominated the La Verne hitters over his seven innings. The junior allowed just three hits and one unearned run in his outing.
Jack Robinette tossed two shutout frames and allowed just one hit in relief of Howell.
Offensively,
Jordan Haworth and
Cole Trotignon both blasted solo home runs to lead the attack.
Lukas Delisle got PLU on the board in the fourth on a RBI groundout to score
Ashton Barton. After Haworth's homer in the fifth, Barton and
Tori Doten scored on a pair of errors by the La Verne defense. Trotignon made it 5-0 in the seventh with his solo shot.
Andy Schmitz had a pair of singles from his leadoff spot, with Doten matching him. Freshman
Braeden Lundberg had three hits and a double to aid the effort.
Game 2
The Leopards pounced all over the Lutes in the nightcap. The home team scored six runs in the first inning, only three of which earned to chase PLU starter
Jonathan Cohen (0-3) after retiring just two batters.
Robinette continued to dominate La Verne hitters, taking over for Cohen in the first and tossing 10 outs without allowing a run and lowering his season ERA to just 1.50. La Verne added four more runs off of
Trevor Mason in the fifth, but again just one of those were earned as the home team built a 10-0 advantage. The Lute defense made three errors in the second game and they proved costly as six La Verne runs were unearned.
PLU finally got on the board in the sixth when
Connor Lemma drove in Trotignon with a single to center.
Alex Boyd had two hits for the offense, while Lemma was 2-for-2 off the bench.
The Lutes will return home next weekend when they host arch rival University of Puget Sound for a key Northwest Conference series. PLU and the Loggers will begin a doubleheader on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.
