MCMINNVILLE, Ore. — A rocky third inning spelled trouble for the Pacific Lutheran University baseball team on Wednesday afternoon, dropping a 7-3 decision to Northwest Conference rival Linfield University.
 
The Lutes (7-11, 2-8 NWC) entered the third with a two-run cushion thanks to an Aaron Barber single down the line in the first inning and an Ethan Keintz RBI double in the second.
 
The host Wildcats (8-9, 5-5 NWC) piled on five runs in the bottom of the third, cranking out seven hits in the inning. 
 
Ashton Barton closed the gap to two in the fifth but Linfield responded with a run of its own in the fifth before adding another in the sixth to take a 7-3 lead and conclude the scoring for the day.
 
"The big inning really hurt us again," said Head Coach Nolan Soete.
 
"We've been giving up too many over the last few weeks. Linfield played better than us in every phase of the game today. We will really need to play a lot better going forward if we want to turn this season around."
 
Keintz and Barton both finished with a pair of hits for the Lutes who were outslugged 14-7 by the hosts.
 
Six Lutes took the mound in the midweek clash with Wyatt Norris getting saddled with the decision, tossing 2 2/3 innings. Anthony Adams recorded the final four outs for PLU, registering one strikeout and allowing no baserunners.
 
The Lutes are back on the diamond on Saturday with a doubleheader at home against George Fox University. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.