MCMINNVILLE< ore.="" —="">The Pacific Lutheran University baseball team notched its first series win of the season on Saturday, earning a doubleheader split against Linfield University at Roy Helser Field. A wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth allowed the homestanding Wildcats to escape with a 6-5 win in the opening game of the day before the Lutes used a five-run fifth inning in a 6-5 victory in the rubbermatch to secure the weekend series. 
 
"I'm very proud of our response after the first game today. We played errorless baseball all weekend and we did a great job of throwing strikes. Overall, it was a good series win," said Head Coach Nolan Soete. 
 
Aaron Barber wasted little time giving the Lutes (2-1) the lead in game one, belting a solo home run in the top of the first. Braeden Lundberg had an RBI single in the second to score Ashton Barton before a Barber sacrifice fly made it 3-0 in the third inning. 
 
The host Wildcats (1-2) pushed across two runs in the third before tying the game at 3-3 in the sixth.
 
Andy Schmitz went yard in the seventh, belting a two-run shot over the left field fence for a 5-3 lead.
 
Linfield chipped into the lead in the seventh with a sac fly before tying the game in the ninth with a solo home run. With the bases loaded, Brett Joner scored the winning run, scoring on a wild pitch to give the home side the comeback victory. 
 
Andy Schmitz was dialed in at the plate in game one, finishing three-for-five with two RBIs and two runs scored. 
 
Cole Trotignon got the starting nod on the hill, striking out three in six innings of action. Landon Day pitched 2 2/3 innings of relief, striking on three and was saddled with the decision. 
 
"Trotignon threw well in game one today. We played well but couldn't close it out in the end."
 
Linfield leaped to a 3-0 lead after one inning of play in game two of the day. A Schmitz sac fly got the Lutes on the board in the third but Linfield responded with two more in the bottom of the frame, staking a 5-1 advantage. 
 
An Ethan Keintz single scored Schmitz to start the five-run scoring binge in the fifth with Ashton Barton plating two more runs on a double down the right field line. Brody Phinney knocked in Sean Kauffman on a single to center while a Braeden Lundberg double allowed Phinney to score what turned out to be the winning run.
 
"We went down four early in the game but Mason did a great job of keeping us in the game and our offense put up a big number in the fifth inning to take the lead."
 
Lundberg was on fire in game two, finishing four-for-four with one RBI and one run scored. Barber was two-for-five as the Lutes belted out 11 hits in the series finale. 
 
Trevor Mason earned the win, tossing 3 2/3 innings of middle relief while Chris Moreno logged his first save as a Lute, allowing just one base runner over the final 2 2/3.
 
"Moreno did an excellent job on the back end to close it out. Lundberg had four hits and Barton had a huge hit to drive in a couple. Phinney drove the tying run in with a pinch hit single and scored the winning run for us"
 
The Lutes are back on the road on Friday, trekking to Texas to face Concordia University.