Setting the Scene: It's the home finale for Pacific Lutheran, welcoming crosstown nemesis Puget Sound to PLU Field. Prior to the first game, the Lutes will honor their four seniors along with the five super seniors in the program.
Series History: Intracity rivals PLU and UPS have met 161 times on the diamond since 1981 with the Lutes holding a 126-34-1 edge in the series. Pacific Lutheran swept the series last spring, outscoring the Loggers 33-12 over the four games.
About the Lutes: PLU (23-13, 15-9 NWC) heads into the weekend series having won five of the last six games. The Lutes run of good fortune began last weekend, taking three of four from Pacific. That included Paola Garcia belting three home runs during the series, helping the Lutes sweep day one 4-3 and 7-3 and win the finale 5-2.
Pacific Lutheran continued to roll on Wednesday, downing Lewis & Clark 6-1 and 3-2. Kennedy Kila headlined the day, belting an extra innings solo home run for the game two victory.
Erin McGrath leads the team with a .405 batting average and 30 runs scored. Owner of PLU's career home run record, McGrath has nine round trippers this spring with 30 RBIs. Rylie Wada is hitting .378 on the season while Kennedy Kila has the power bat with 12 doubles and 12 home runs with a .365 average.
Inside the circle, Cassidy Conrad is the ace with 111 1/3 innings pitched with a 11-5 record and 61 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 22-6 record at home over the past two seasons, including a 11-3 record this spring.
About the Loggers: Puget Sound (9-19, 6-16 NWC) heads into the weekend looking to snap a three-game slide. The Loggers edged Pacific 11-9 in game three of its series on April 2 but was unable to secure the series win in game four, coming up short 4-2.
UPS faced nationally-ranked Linfield last Friday, suffering 9-0 and 8-1 setbacks.
Savanna Smith headlines the Loggers at the plate with a .360 average with 21 RBIs. Emily Moore is hitting at a .353 clip with a team-high 23 runs scored while Jessica Moore has 13 doubles on the season.
Smith is additionally Puget Sound's ace inside the circle, logging 81 1/3 innings with 48 strikeouts and a 6.64 earned run average.
Thank You Seniors!
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 Games:
2023 NWC Tournament
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