TACOMA, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University baseball team dropped its final Northwest Conference game of the season on Sunday before rebounding with a non-conference win, taking the overall season series three games to two against crosstown nemesis University of Puget Sound. The visiting Loggers prevailed 9-7 in the opener before the Lutes ended the season on a high note with an 8-5 win at PLU Field.
Ethan Keintz led off the top of the first inning with a single up the middle. The senior stole second before advancing to third on a
Rochne Beecham single. Keintz would eventually score courtesy of a
Carson Burke sacrifice fly for the game's first run.
The Loggers (23-16, 14-10 NWC) responded with five runs in the second inning before adding another in the sixth, building a 6-1 advantage.
Keintz led off the sixth inning with a base hit, a harbinger of things to come for the Lutes (14-24, 10-14 NWC) as they put up four runs in the inning. A Beecham single scored Keintz before Burke doubled in
Braeden Lundberg. Youch made it a one run contest with a two-RBI double, scoring both Burke and Beecham.
Puget Sound pushed across another run in the seventh before blasting two solo home runs in the eighth to build a 9-5 buffer. Pacific Lutheran closed the gap in the eighth with
Brody Phinney belting a two-run home run, scoring pinch hitter
Kyle Tat who drew a walk the previous at bat.
Keintz led the offensive charge with a three-for-five effort, stealing a pair of bases and scoring two runs. Beecham added two hits while Burke, Youch, and Phinney all had a pair of RBIs.
Cole Becker earned the start on the mound, tossing the opening inning before
Chris Moreno tossed 6 1/3 innings of relief, striking out eight.
Connor Tutino finished off the eighth inning before
Logan Egge retired the side in order, including one punchout in the ninth.
The responded in Sunday's non-conference game to close the day, piling on four runs in the bottom of the first inning. Beecham drove in pinch runner
Weston Cruz for the inning's first run before a Youch single scored Lundberg.
Brody Phinney belted in Beecham for the third run of the frame before Youch stole home on a double steal to make it a 4-0 edge.
Puget Sound cut the deficit in half in the top of the second with a 2-RBI triple. A
Chase Pringle bases loaded walk allowed
Dallas Phipps to score in the bottom of the third, before
Tyler Yarger went yard in the fifth. Yarger's bomb scored
Marcus McCarthy who pinch ran for Phinney who reached base on a single.
The Lutes added another run in the sixth for good measure with Youch singling in Phipps to up the lead to 8-2. Puget Sound scored three runs in the seventh but it was too little, too late, as PLU held on for the win.
PLU banged out 10 hits in game two, getting a pair of hits from Lundberg, Phipps, Youch, and Phinney, while Phipps scored a pair of runs.
Wyatt Norris got the start on the hill, logging the opening four outs of the game before making way for
Gus Livermore. Livermore was credited with the win, tossing 1 2/3 innings and allowing just two hits.
Jake Prewett and Anthony Hickman both tossed an inning apiece and neither allowing a hit or a run.
Andre Tutus made his collegiate debut in the sixth while
Logan Egge closed out the game, recording the final five outs of the 2026 season.
Sunday was senior day as the PLU baseball program honored its 14 seniors pregame. The 2026 senior class has earned wins against teams against all three NCAA divisions over their four years, headlined by last year's road upset of the University of Washington. Those honored include
Brayden Adcox,
Rochne Beecham,
Brody Phinney,
Chris Moreno,
Braeden Lundberg,
Rutger Youch,
Logan Ready,
Jake Prewett,
Ethan Keintz,
Weston Cruz,
Carson Burke,
Wyatt Norris,
Gus Livermore, and
Hayden Kaiser.
"The 2026 senior class has been a pleasure to coach. It's a strong group of 14 highly motivated student-athletes. They worked hard on the field, in the classroom, and really did a great job representing the program in a professional manner throughout the years. They will all do well in the future and we will miss them," said Head Coach
Nolan Soete.
