Setting the Scene: The Lutes finish off the 2024 season this weekend, welcoming crosstown nemesis Puget Sound to PLU Field for a three-game series.
Series History: The Lutes and Loggers have met 162 times since the 1980 campaign with Pacific Lutheran enjoying a 104-57-1 edge in the all-time series.
PLU has won four straight in the series and 13 of the last 15 encounters. PLU swept the series last spring, prevailing 9-8, 13-9, and 6-4 while also earning a wild 18-12 victory over the Loggers earlier this spring on April 2. That game saw PLU score 11 runs in the seventh inning with Brody Phinney finishing four-for-six at the plate with seven RBIs, including a grand slam.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (13-23, 8-13 NWC) looks to close out the season on a high-note and win its fifth conference series of the season.
Despite having an 8-13 record in conference play, the Lutes own series wins over Willamette, George Fox, Lewis & Clark, and Pacific.
The Lutes last NWC series was two weeks ago, taking two of three in Forest Grove against host Pacific. PLU rolled up the Boxers 12-7 and 16-1 on April 20, before Pacific took the series finale 7-2 the following day.
The Lutes played just one game last week, falling 4-3 to Division II Saint Martin's on Sunday. PLU attempted a late rally, getting two runs on an Ashton Barton double in the eighth inning to close within a run but was unable to do any more damage.
Brody Phinney and Christian Cambridge headlined the day, both collecting a pair of hits. PLU's pitching staff combined for eight strikeouts with Matthew Sherwood earning four of those in his two scoreless innings of work.
Aaron Barber leads the Lutes at the plate with a .345 average and 18 RBIs while Hayden Kaiser is hitting at a .319 clip. Ashton Barton is hitting a shade under .300 with team-high 13 doubles, six home runs, and 32 RBIs.
Chris Moreno has been PLU's workhorse on the hill, tossing a team-high 52 2/3 innings with 59 punch outs. Jonathan Cohen has pitched 46 2/3 innings while Matthew Sherwood has seen 42 1/3 innings of work.
We're Number 1: If it seems like the Lutes have played a tough schedule, well, it's because they have.
PLU has the toughest schedule in all of NCAA Division III right now, sitting atop the division that has 389 baseball squads.
Putting the 2 in 24: PLU senior Ashton Barton (jersey number 24) sits second all-time on the career doubles list with 41 over the past five seasons. The Puyallup, Washington native sits just two away of tying Ryan Aratani who suited up for the Lutes from 2008 to 2011.
Barton additionally ranks fourth all-time in at-bats (570) and ninth all-time in RBIs (112).
About the Loggers: Puget Sound (16-21, 8-13 NWC) heads across town looking to buck a two-game slide. The Loggers opened up last weekend with a wild 11-10 extra innings victory at home over Pacific, winning on a walkoff sacrifice fly from Makana Murashige.
The rest of the weekend wasn't as kind to the Loggers, falling 10-8 in game two before stumbling 11-3 in Sunday's series finale. Puget Sound has won two of its NWC series this season, taking two of three against both Whitworth and Whitman.
Makana Murashige leads the Loggers at the dish with a .380 batting average along with a team-best 10 stolen bases. Davis Franklin hits at a .361 clip with 18 extra base hits and 25 RBIs while Drew Kamihara has 25 RBIs and a team-high 32 runs scored.
On the hill, Davis Franklin has a team-best 3.32 earned run average, pitching in 59 2/3 innings with 76 strikeouts. Brett Harvey has an identical strikeout total while tossing a team-high 69 2/3 innings.
Thank You Seniors!
2024 Seniors By the Numbers:
78 career wins
53 career conference wins
29 wins at PLU Field
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.
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