Setting the Scene: The Lutes return to the friendly confines of PLU Field riding a five game win streak, hosting in-state nemesis Whitworth.
Series History: The Lutes and Pirates have met 105 times since the series began in the 1998 season with PLU enjoying a 65-40 edge in the all-time series.
PLU has won eight of the last 10 against the Pirates, including winning four of the five games played last season. The Lutes won three of four in Spokane in 2023, the lone blemish a 503 setback while also scoring a 4-0 victory over Whitworth at the NWC Tournament in McMinnville, Oregon.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (15-17, 10-10 NWC) returns to Tacoma riding a five-game win streak. PLU's good fortunes began back on April 14, scoring six runs in the top of the first inning to close out the Lewis & Clark series with an 8-6 victory.
The Lutes had arguably their best series of the season last weekend, earning a four-game road sweep of Pacific. Rachael Rhinehart set the tone in game one, tossing the program's first no-hitter since 2017 in a 5-0 victory.
Casey Wright had a home run and Leslie Main scored the decisive run in the top of the seventh as the Lutes took the second game of Saturday by a razor thin 7-6 margin.
Sunday opened with another shutout, blanking the Boxers 3-0 before finishing off the weekend with a 13-5 mercy rule victory. PLU cranked out 16 hits in the finale, including seven going for extra bases.
Casey Wright blasted three home runs over the four-game series, cranking out six total hits while Rhinehart was honored as the NWC Pitcher of the Week on Monday after earning two wins inside the circle, allowing just four hits over two games and striking out 12.
Casey Wright has proved to be the Lutes' top threat at the plate, leading the team in batting average (.376), runs scored (25), and home runs (eight). Emma Ware is hitting at a .354 clip while Molly House boasts a .319 average at the plate. Paola Garcia leads the team in RBIs (24) and doubles (seven) while ranking second in home runs with six.
Rachael Rhinehart is the workhorse inside the circle, tossing a team-high 76 2/3 innings with a team-best 69 strikeouts. Rachel Treves is second on the team in innings pitch, logging 58 innings across 14 appearances.
No-No By the Numbers: Rachael Rhinehart's no-hitter was the program's first since Elli Rassbach accomplished the feat in a 9-1 victory over Pacific on Feb. 25, 2017 and the first Lute shutout no-hitter since Stacey Hagensen during the national championship winning 2012 campaign. Rhinehart additionally was the first Lute to toss a no-hitter in a full seven inning game since Melissa Korb did so on April 17, 2002.
About the Pirates: Whitworth (13-19, 9-11 NWC) heads to Tacoma having won six of its last seven games. The Pirates won three of four against Puget Sound two weekends ago, outscoring the Loggers 28-6 over those four games, including 8-0 and 10-0 shutouts on April 14 to finish off the series.
Last weekend, Whitworth hit the road, snapping three of four against George Fox, including a 5-4 extra innings win in the series finale.
Haley Montoya is the team's leading hitter, one of four Pirates hitting above .300 on the year. Montana boasts a .333 average with nine extra base hits, 14 RBIs and 13 stolen bases, while Jazz Johnson is hitting at a .323 clip. Jessica Rusconi has a team-best 16 extra base hits, 12 doubles, and 20 RBIs.
Corinne Vasiloff has pitched over half the Pirates' total innings this season, tossing 108 2/3 with 69 strikeouts in 19 appearances. Momi Lyman has 42 punch outs in 76 1/3 innings of work.
Super Amann!
Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear baseball pants.
Pacific Lutheran University baseball student-athlete Rowan Amann stepped up to the plate last week, donating lifesaving bone marrow after signing up and participating in the Get in the Game Registry Drive during D3Week during the spring of 2022.
1 Weekend. 3 Championships.
Check out all the celebration highlights below as PLU volleyball, women's soccer, and men's soccer all clinched league titles on Senior Day weekend on Oct. 28-29.
Fall Sports Recap
NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll
Summer Lutes
PLU men's soccer student-athlete Elijah Singleton had a busy summer serving as an intern in a lab at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center. Learn more about his daily routine in the video below.
Trailblazing NIL the D3 Way: PLU Athletics continues to lead the way nationally in Name, Image, and Likeness, unveiling the Luteville Marketplace last fall through the department's partnership with Opendorse. 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.
This spring PLU became just the second Division III school in the nation and the first school in any division in the State of Washington to partner with Athlete's Thread. Athlete's Thread allows every Lute student-athlete to sell customizable gear and jerseys with their name and number and receive monetary compensation for a portion of each sale. Check out the link above to order your gear today!
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.
Next Home Games:
May 3 vs. 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