TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University baseball team had the winning run at the plate in both ends of its doubleheader on Saturday against Northwest Conference leading Whitman College. Unfortunately for the Lutes, they were unable to capitalize on those opportunities falling 7-4 and 7-2 to the Blues at PLU Field.
"It was a tough weekend for us," said Head Coach
Nolan Soete.
"Whitman has one of the best rotations I've seen at our level and they did a great job against our hitters in all three games. Our guys battled, but the big innings in both games hurt us."
The homestanding Lutes (8-16, 4-7 NWC) struck first in the opener, plating a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning.
Rochne Beecham drew a one out walk, stole second, and then scored on an RBI single from
Carson Burke. Burke stole second later in the inning and would touch home on a
Jaden Pieper RBI single down the left field line, making it 2-0 PLU.
Whitman (14-7, 9-3 NWC) answered in the top of the third, using a two-out rally to score seven runs. The Blues' drew a bases loaded walk to score their first run of the game before Nik Greb cleared the bases with a grand slam. A fielding error kept the inning alive, allowing two more to score, making it 7-2 Whitman.
Beecham led off the fourth with a base hit, later scoring on a RBI single from
Lukas Delisle. In the sixth
Peter King absorbed a pitch to walk in a run, but the Lutes weren't able to get any more that inning, leaving the bases loaded and trailing 7-4. That score would hold up the rest of the game.
Delisle was on fire at plate, finishing three-for-four with an RBI. Burke finished two-for-four with two runs scored while Pieper was two-for-three.
Kamryn Swartz was tagged with the decision on the mound, tossing the opening 2 2/3 innings and striking out two.
Chris Moreno pitched six innings of long relief, striking out seven and allowing just one earned run.
In the nightcap, the Blues pushed across a run in the third inning before belting a solo home run the next frame to take a 2-0 lead. Pacific Lutheran answered in the bottom of the fifth, manufacturing two runs to tie the game.
Beecham led off the fifth by drawing a walk. He stole second and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt before scoring on a
Brayden Adcox RBI groundout. An
Ashton Barton single, PLU's first hit of the game, tied the game at 2, allowing
Jaden Pieper to score.
The Blues wasted little time reestablishing the lead, belting back-to-back home runs in the top of the sixth to stake a 5-2 advantage. PLU loaded the bases and had the winning run at the plate in the eighth inning but was unable to score any runs. Whitman further padded its lead in the top of the ninth, scoring two for the final 7-2 scoreline.
PLU finished with five hits off the bats of five different players while
Jaden Pieper got on base three times, including twice on a hit by pitch.
Jon Crawley made the start for the Lutes, allowing two runs in five innings of work.
Matthew Sherwood tossed the final four innings, striking out five and absorbing the loss.
"I thought Crawley, Moreno, Sherwood, and ANthony did a decent job today. We just made a few mistakes and they made us pay. We'll work to get better this week from an offensive standpoint."
The Lutes are back in action on Tuesday afternoon, making the short trip across town to face University of Puget Sound at 3 p.m.
