TACOMA, Wash. — Rochne Beecham belted a grand slam in the fifth inning but it wasn't enough on Tuesday afternoon for the Pacific Lutheran University baseball team to come away with a win, suffering a 10-6 setback to crosstown nemesis University of Puget Sound in a non-conference showdown at PLU Field.

The visiting Loggers (11-7) drew first blood, scoring two runs on a Makana Murashige double in the first inning. Murashige was at it again in the third inning, poking another two-RBI double as Puget Sound took a 5-0 lead.

The Lutes' offense came alive in the bottom of the fifth inning, piling on a half dozen runs to take the lead. Infield singles from Chase Pringle and Rutger Youch along with a hit batter loaded the bases. Aaron Barber walked in the inning's first run before Brody Phinney walked in the next, cutting the gap to just three runs with two outs. Beecham was next up and cleared the bases with a grand slam over the center field wall. It was his second home run of the season.

Two walks and two hit batters allowed Puget Sound to score two in the top of the sixth to reclaim the lead. The visitors would add two more in the seventh and another run in the eighth to secure the 10-6 victory.

Seven Lutes (6-11) finished with a base hit with Youch going two-for-five with a run scored. 

PLU utilized six pitchers on the day, combining for eight strikeouts. Matt Carleton struck out four and allowed just one run in two innings of work in just his second collegiate appearance while Stevan Rodriquez retired all three batters he faced in the ninth inning.

"We showed some flashes of improvement and had a big home run by Beecham to take a lead. Unfortunately, we didn't do the little things to finish the right way," said Head Coach Nolan Soete.

The Lutes resume Northwest Conference play on Saturday, trekking to Salem, Oregon for a doubleheader against Willamette University. First pitch is set for 12 p.m.