Setting the Scene: The Lutes remain at home for the second consecutive weekend, hosting Oregon rivals Willamette in a four-game Northwest Conference series at PLU Field.
Series History: The Lutes and Bearcats have battled 142 times since the 1981 campaign with PLU enjoying a commanding 107-35 edge in the series.
PLU has won nine of the last 10 meetings, winning the season series last season in Oregon by winning three of the four games by a combined 36-11 scoreline.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (7-13, 2-6 NWC) finally had a home game last weekend, hosting George Fox University in a four-game weekend series. PLU came away with a split against the Bruins. GFU won the opener 6-2 before the Lutes exploded for 11 runs over two innings for a 16-14 victory in game two.
The following day, PLU scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh, including a walkoff double by Rylie Wada for a 7-6 win. GFU got the last laugh, scoring a run in the top of the sixth to take the final game of the series 2-1.
Paola Garcia was on fire from the plate last weekend, hitting .625 with two home runs and five RBIs. Zoe Smithson was also bringing the lumber, hitting .538 with three extra base hits and six RBIs.
Inside the circle, Rachael Rhinehart logged 15 strikeouts in a pair of starts.
Casey Wright continues to lead the Lutes at the plate, sporting a .404 batting average and a .673 slugging percentage through the opening 20 games of the season. That includes 11 RBIs and eight extra base hits. Zoe Smithson is hitting .339 with 10 RBIs and a team-best eight doubles while Paola Garcia has provided the power, with 15 RBIs and four home runs.
Rachael Rhinehart is the workhorse inside the circle, tossing a team-high 50 innings with a team-best 44 strikeouts.
About the Bearcats: Willamette (6-12, 2-6 NWC) has split its last three doubleheaders dating back to the middle of March.
The Bearcats hosted non-conference foe Pomona-Pitzer on March 15, getting edged 13-12 in the opener in a marathon 15-inning game before downing the Sagehens 5-3 in game two.
Willamette hosted Whitworth last weekend in Salem, again coming up with a split. The Bearcats fell short 4-3 in the first game of the series but rebounded in the nightcap, pushing across three runs in the bottom of the seventh for the 4-3 victory.
On Sunday, Willamette edged Whitworth 2-1 to open the day before stumbling 5-3 in the final game of the series.
Emma Elliott leads the Bearcats at the plate with a .347 batting average with 13 RBIs and six home runs while Mia Rogers is hitting at a .333 clip with 11 RBIs.
The Bearcats' Kenna Davis has seen the most work inside the circle with 45 strikeouts in 53 1/3 innings of action. Jordyn Johnson has pitched 35 2/3 innings with a team-best 3.53 earned run average.
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:
Apr. 27 vs. 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