NEWBERG, Ore. — The Pacific Lutheran University baseball team held leads in both games on Saturday but came away empty handed in both contests, dropping a Northwest Conference doubleheader to George Fox University at the Morse Athletic Field. The Lutes were nipped 9-8 in the opener before falling 6-3 in game two. 
 
"It was a tough one today. We thought we did well from an offensive standpoint in game one," said Head Coach Nolan Soete.
 
"We keep getting ourselves into trouble by giving up big innings and that puts a lot of pressure on our offense to keep producing at a high clip. Right now we're playing inconsistent baseball and not putting all three phases together at the same time. We will look to do a better job with that tomorrow in the series finale."
 
The Lutes (4-6, 2-3 NWC) jumped out to an early lead in the opener, staking a 3-0 advantage after three innings of play. Carson Burke got things started, blasting a home run for the fourth consecutive game to put the visitors on the board in the second inning. A Braeden Lundberg double scored Rutger Youch in the third before touching home on an Aaron Barber two bagger later in the inning.

The Bruins (6-6, 3-2 NWC) seized the lead in the fourth, pushing across four runs. 
 
Barber tilted the scales back to PLU in the fifth with a two-RBI single before a Brody Phinney home run made it 7-4. The lead proved fleeting with George Fox utilizing another four-run inning to reestablish their lead. 
 
A Brody Phinney single scored Barber to tie the game in the sixth inning but the Bruins used an infield single in the seventh to push ahead 9-8, a scoreline that would hold up the rest of the game.

Barber was on fire in the opening, going four-for-six with three RBIs and two runs scored. Ethan Keintz and Phinney each finished with a pair of hits. 
 
PLU's pitching staff combined for four strikeouts with Kamryn Swartz hit with the decision, allowing one run and three hits over the final three innings.
 
GFU scored first in game two but the Lutes battled back in the sixth inning, scoring a trio of runs to take a 3-1 lead. Phinney got things going with an RBI single to score Jaden Pieper before a Barber single scored Youch. A Keintz double down the line plated Phinney but the scoring surge was ended early with two runners in scoring position.

The Bruins tied the game in the sixth before adding three in the eighth to secure the sweep and series win.

Braeden Lundberg had three hits in game two while Youch, Barber, and Keintz all had multi-hit games.
 
Chris Moreno got the start and went 5 1/3 innings, striking out four before giving way to Logan Egge. Egge was saddled with the loss, striking out two and allowing just one earned over the final 2 2/3 innings. 
 
The Lutes and Bruins finish off the series tomorrow at 12 p.m.