Setting the Scene: It's the home opener and the Northwest Conference opener for the Lutes, welcoming Lewis & Clark to PLU Field. PLU and the Pios will play a doubleheader each day with the final game of the series a non-conference game.
Series History: The Lutes and Pioneers have met 129 times on the diamond since the 1980 season with PLU controlling an 84-45 advantage in the series. Last spring, L&C won two of three in Portland, prevailing 8-7 and 13-7 with the Lutes winning game two by a 13-7 scoreline.
About the Lutes: PLU (5-2) returns from Texas having won three of four games. The Lutes dropped the opener to host Concordia University 8-4 on Friday before earning an 8-3 win over Hardin-Simmons University and a 12-2 win over Texas Lutheran University on Saturday. The Lute nine capped off the weekend with a 9-3 win over Texas Lutheran on Sunday.
Andy Schmitz headlined the weekend for the Lutes, hitting.368 at the plate, scoring six runs with three extra base hits and three RBIs. Schmitz set a new school record for triples in Sunday's win, hitting his 12th three-bagger of his career.
On the hill, Jonathan Cohen had a big weekend in the bullpen, earning the save against Hardin-Simmons and collecting the win against Texas Lutheran.
VCU transfer Aaron Barber is the Lutes' leading hitter through the opening seven games, sporting a .429 batting average with seven RBIs. Andy Schmitz has five extra base hits and eight RBIs on the year with a .419 average while Braeden Lundberg is hitting .417 in his second season in the black and gold.
Spencer Howell leads the team in strikeouts with 10 in 11 innings of work. Landon Day has eight punch outs in his first season with the Lutes. Chris Moreno hasn't allowed a run out of the bullpen, collecting two saves on the season so far.
About the Pioneers: Lewis & Clark (7-1) is off to a hot start and owns one of the most potent offenses in the country. The Pios lead the nation in home runs per game (2.62) while rank fourth nationally in runs scored, averaging 12.0 per game.
The Pios made two trips to California to start the season, earning a three-game sweep of Occidental College before shelling Whittier College 22-7 on Feb. 5. The following weekend, L&C won two of three against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges before edging Whittier 11-8 last Sunday.
Brennan Davis leads the team with a .472 batting average with six home runs and 17 RBIs while Will Heron has 16 RBIs and a .421 batting average. The slugging Pios have 21 home runs on the year.
Luke Ritter has seen the most action on the mound with 10 2/3 innings pitched with a 1.69 earned run average and nine strikeouts. Brayden Nomura has a team-high 10 punch outs while Brett Pierson has nine strikeouts and a 3.12 ERA. Anthony Clerici has two saves on the season to lead the bullpen.
NWC Coaches' Poll
The Northwest Conference released its annual preseason coaches' poll on Jan. 31 with PLU picked to finish third.
The Lutes sit third overall in the preseason poll after collecting 49 points. Defending NWC Champion Pacific University sits atop the poll with 63 points and seven of the nine first-place votes. Linfield University is second in the rankings with 52 points and one first place vote while George Fox University rounds out the top four with 45 points and the remaining first place endorsement.
Willamette University is fifth with 37 points followed by Lewis & Clark College and Whitman College tied for sixth with 24 points. University of Puget Sound was picked eighth with 20 points followed by Whitworth University in ninth (10 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:
Mar. 4: PLU hosts Pacific (DH) at 11 a.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