Setting the Scene: After winning three of four in California, the Lutes are back at home, welcoming crosstown nemesis University of Puget Sound to PLU Field.
Series History: The Lutes and Loggers have met 154 times on the diamond since the 1980 season with Pacific Lutheran enjoying a commanding 97-56-1 advantage in the all-time series. The two squads met eight times last spring, with the Lutes winning six of those encounters, including a four-game sweep of the NWC series. The Lutes and Loggers have met once already this spring with PLU coming away with a 10-3 win back on Feb. 11.
About the Lutes: PLU (12-6, 5-4 NWC) returns home and resumes NWC play after winning three of four on its California excursion.
The Lutes were firing on all cylinders against 20th-ranked California Lutheran University, unseating the Kinsmen 4-2 on May 10 and 3-1 the following day.
Tommy Snyder tossed a gem in the opening, going 7 2/3 innings and striking out seven while issuing no walks. Noah Ferguson closed things out, collecting the final four outs by striking out three and allowing no hits for the save. Cole Trotignon was the star offensively, driving in three runs while Andy Schmitz and Lukas Delisle both scored a pair of runs.
Ethan Keintz was the star in game two, belting a two RBI double in the sixth to put the Lutes ahead 3-1. Jordan Haworth and Ashton Barton both finished with three hits while on the hill Trotignon tossed 6 1 /3 innings. Alex Gregory struck out four in two innings of work before Ferguson collected the final two outs for his second save in as many days.
On Saturday, Haworth and Trotignon both homered in a 5-1 win over University of La Verne. Braeden Lundberg had a big day at the dish, going three-for-four while Spencer Howell struck out four ins evening innings of work.
The Leopards got the last laugh however, scoring six runs in the bottom of the first for an 11-1 win to close out the trip. Connor Lemma was two-for-two at the plate in the finale with Alex Boyd going two-for-three.
National Recognition: Earning a pair of road saves against the 20th-ranked Kinsmen earned reliever Noah Ferguson a spot on the D3baseball.com Team of the Week. Ferguson was one of 16 student-athletes from around the nation to be recognized and one of just two from the NWC. Ferguson is the first Lute to win the honor since Jordan Haworth made Team of the Week on March 30, 2021.
About the Loggers: Puget Sound (10-9, 7-5 NWC) began the NWC slate with series wins over Linfield University, Pacific University, and Willamette University, before dropping two of three last weekend at home against George Fox University.
The Loggers were nipped 6-5 in the opener and 9-4 in game two last Saturday before rebounding on Sunday with a 5-3 win to avoid the sweep.
Kyle Strash leads the Loggers at the plate with a .359 batting average while Dylan Joyce brings the lumber, with seven home runs and 18 RBIs so far this season. Makana Murashige is dangerous on the base paths, going a perfect seven-for-seven on stolen bases this season.
Owen Shellhammer leads the Loggers in strikeouts with 25 in 24 innings of work with a 3-0 record and a 1.50 earned run average but has been inactive since late February. Joyce has 16 Ks in 11 innings of work with a minuscule 0.82 ERA. Davis Franklin has seen the most work on the mound, making six starts and amassing 25 1/3 innings on the hill.
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 Game:
Apr. 2: PLU hosts Whitworth (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