Setting the Scene: Pacific Lutheran finally finishes off its series with Lewis & Clark with a midweek doubleheader at PLU Field.
Series History: The Lutes and Pioneers have battled 146 times since 1980 with PLU enjoying a commanding 127-19 edge in the series. The two teams split the series last spring, each winning a pair of games in Portland.
Earlier this spring it was the Pios who took two, winning 1-0 & 12-5 on March 27.
About the Lutes: PLU (21-13, 13-9 NWC) battled wet conditions all weekend to win three of four at home against Pacific University. It was a Lute sweep on Friday. Rylie Wada provided a walkoff home run in the bottom of the seventh in a 4-3 win that saw Paola Garcia go yard twice, before getting a 7-3 victory in game two. Cassidy Conrad went the distance inside the circle in game one while Amaya Smith did the same in game two.
The Boxers jumped to an early lead to open Saturday, winning game three 9-6 but the Lutes took the series with a 5-2 win in game four.
Garcia was on fire over the weekend, going five-for-10 with three home runs and seven RBIs.
Erin McGrath leads the team with a .397 batting average and 30 runs scored. Owner of PLU's career home run record, McGrath has nine round trippers this spring with 29 RBIs. Rylie Wada is hitting .384 on the season while Kennedy Kila has the power bat with 11 doubles and 11 home runs with a .371 average.
Inside the circle, Cassidy Conrad is the ace with 104 1/3 innings pitched with a 10-5 record and 56 punch outs. Kila has seen the next most action inside the circle with 48 1/3 innings pitched with a 5-2 record.
Home Sweet Home: The Lutes have turned PLU Field into a daunting venue for opposing team's owning a 20-6 record at home over the past two seasons, including a 9-3 record this spring.
About the Pioneers: Lewis & Clark (17-13, 9-11 NWC) won nine straight games, including the DH sweep of PLU on March 27 but have since hit a rough patch, dropping five of its last six games.
Last weekend the Pios fell 10-4 and 5-4 on the road to Whitworth before earning a split on Sunday. The Pirates took game three by a 6-2 scoreline before Lewis & Clark avoided the sweep, pounding out 11 hits in a 6-3 victory.
Riley Anderson leads the Pios at the plate, hitting .420 with 39 RBIs and 10 home runs. Lainey Honma is hitting at a .403 clip with 23 runs scored while Mari Alvarez and Kalea Kaui both have 20 RBIs on the season.
Alyssa Abe has seen the most action inside the circle, owning a 4.46 earned run average with 28 strikeouts. Charlize Pope leads the team in wins (five) and strikeouts 43), having made 17 appearances on the season.
Attaway Lutes!
Congrats to Shannon Cotton (Fritzke), Melissa Korb, and the 2012 National Championship winning softball team on earning induction into the PLU Athletics Hall of Fame on March 18. Cotton (pictured top left) and Korb (Pictured top middle) were battery mates for the Lutes from 1999-2002, helping PLU win four straight league titles and place fourth in the nation in 2002. The 2012 Lutes won the program's fourth national title and to date, only NCAA Division III title.
NWC Coaches' Poll
The Pacific Lutheran University softball team is projected to finish third in the Northwest Conference standings in 2023 according to the NWC's annual coaches' poll released on Jan. 31.
The Lutes (30-14 overall, 20-8 NWC in 2022) garnered 38 points in the poll to place third, finishing four points shy of second ranked George Fox University.
Reigning league champion Linfield University sits atop the rankings with 49 points and seven of the eight first place votes. GFU claimed the remaining first place vote. Whitworth University is fourth with 28 points followed by Lewis & Clark College (26 points), and Pacific University (17 points).
Willamette University is seventh with 16 points while crosstown nemesis University of Puget Sound sits in eighth with eight points.
Trailblazing NIL the D3 Way: PLU Athletics continues to lead the way nationally in Name, Image, and Likeness, unveiling the Luteville Marketplace on August 31 through the department's partnership with Opendorse. Learn more about the deal here: LINK. But don't stay on the sidelines, get involved and connect with PLU student-athletes on the Luteville Marketplace: LINK
The Luteville Marketplace is the first dedicated NIL marketplace in Division III on the Opendorse platform that directly connects student-athletes with fans, supporters, and business partners in an easy to use website.
New Look Lutemobile for 2023
The new Lutemobile is here! During the first week in January, the Lutes' bus partner Bellair Charters, unveiled its newest PLU branded bus as it took the men's and women's hoops teams to Oregon.
Stay connected to your favorite teams by downloading the official mobile app of the Pacific Lutheran University athletic department powered by SIDEARM Sports, available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
Featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gameday details and more, the new PLU Athletics app is free and compatible with both iOS and Android devices.
To download the app to your smartphone or tablet, visit the Apple App Store (DOWNLOAD LINK) or Google Play (DOWNLOAD LINK) and search for "PLU Athletics."
Next Home Games:
Apr. 15: PLU hosts Puget Sound (DH) at 12 p.m.
PLU Non-Discrimination Policy: Pacific Lutheran University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability or age in its programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Title IX Coordinator Jennifer Childress-White; 253-535-7361; TitleIX@plu.edu