A pair of late-inning rallies led No. 22 Pacific Lutheran to a doubleheader sweep of Pacific University on Sunday. The Lutes won game one by a 13-3 margin and the nightcap by a 4-2 score.
The two losses drops Pacific to 8-10 overall and 3-9 in the Northwest Conference; whereas Pacific Lutheran raises its mark to 12-3 overall and 10-2 in conference play.
In game one, Pacific went ahead in the first inning on a RBI groundout by
Joey Galeno (Auburn, Wash.), who brought in
Eli Wisdom (La Grande, Ore.), who doubled to begin the day.
The Boxers held a 1-0 lead until the Lutes plated five in the fifth and four more in the sixth to take a 9-1 lead. Pacific got back on the scoreboard with two runs on a two-run home run by
Josh Keithly (Mission Viejo, Calif.) in the seventh inning. Earlier in the inning, with one out,
Ben Roquet (Edmonds, Wash.) had doubled.
The Lutes added to its lead when they scored two more in its half of the inning for the final margin.
Wisdom and Galeno each had two hits for the Boxers in the loss. Starting pitcher Brady O' Keefe (Tacoma, Wash.) was the losing pitcher, scattering six hits, five runs (three earned) in 4.2 innings to fall to 1-2.
In game two, Pacific Lutheran scored three times in the seventh to break a 1-1 tie en route to the 4-2 win over the Boxers.
For the second-straight game, Wisdom sparked the early lead for the Boxers. After a walk to leadoff the game, he took advantage of a pair of Lutes' wild pitches for the early 1-0 lead.
In an attempt to extend its lead, the Boxers stranded a pair of base runners in the fourth and sixth innings. The Lutes rallied to tie it in its half of the sixth inning, following a triple and double in the inning.
Three runs on two hits with two outs in the seventh put the host Lutes ahead 4-1. Wisdom set the stage for another run in the eighth. He started the inning with a single, then
Charlie Dietrich (Aberdeen, Wash.) was hit by a pitch and
Jacob Vice walked to load the bases. The Boxers'
Kurtis Kloke (San Bernardino, Calif.) cut the deficit to two with a sacrifice fly. A strikeout and pop out kept Pacific from drawing closer.
Pacific rallied to load the bases with none out in the ninth before the Lutes' Andrew Curran kept the Boxers off the scoreboard.
Offensively, Pacific was limited to three hits and the Lutes were held to five.
Boxers' starting pitcher
Spencer Backstrom (Bellingham, Wash.) went six innings, allowing three hits and a run and seven strikeouts in his first start of the season in a no decision.
Lutes reliever Cole Larson pitched 2.1 innings, allowing a hit, a run in the win to improve to 1-1 and Curran picked up his first save of the season.
Next, Pacific will host Puget Sound at Chuck Bafaro Stadium in a three-game series. The Loggers and Boxers series will get started on Saturday, Mar. 18 at noon.
