Setting the Scene: After seven straight games on the road, the Lutes get to enjoy the comforts of home, returning to the friendly confines of PLU Field to host in-state rival Saint Martin's.
Series History: The Lutes and Saints have met 46 times on the diamond since the 1997 season with PLU enjoying a 25-21 edge in the all-time series.
The two teams last met on Feb. 18 with the Saints coming away with a 9-1 victory after scoring nine unanswered runs, including seven in the fifth inning.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (8-12, 4-4 NWC) returns from a seven game road swing having won four of those games.
The road swing began in Newberg, Oregon on March 16-17 with the Lutes taking two of three over Northwest Conference rival George Fox. The Lutes outslugged the Bruins 12-5 in the series opener before taking game two 5-4. The Bruins avoided the sweep with a 8-7 victory to cap the weekend.
Last weekend, the Lutes went down to Southern California, squeezing in four games. Host California Lutheran took the opening two games 15-1 and 8-4 but it was all Lutes after that with PLU edging the Kingsmen 6-4 on Saturday before unseating then 23rd-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 4-3 on Sunday.
Aaron Barber has been on a tear this season, boasting a team-best .395 batting average with 12 RBIs and six extra base hits. Hayden Kaiser is hitting at a .320 clip while Ashton Barton has a team-leading six doubles, three home runs, 10 extra base hits, and 13 RBIs.
Kamryn Swartz has a 4.71 earned run average in 28 2/3 innings pitched while Chris Moreno is the Lute strikeout king with 31 on the season in 27 innings of work. Jonathan Cohen has shown his versatility as a starter and in the pen with 25 innings pitched this season.
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. The Lutes have faced just two teams with a losing record this season with one of them being Division II Saint Martin's.
About the Saints: Division II Saint Martin's (10-22, 5-11 NWC) makes a return trip to Tacoma after spending last weekend on the road in Idaho.
The Saints faced off against Great Northwest Athletic Conference rival Northwest Nazarene in a four-game series in Nampa, Idaho with the host Nighthawks winning three of the four games in the series.
St Martin's attempted a late rally but fell short 5-4 in the opener on Friday before St. Martin's salvaged a doubleheader split by taking game two 6-2. A Dylan McLaughlin triple in the fifth scored the game's opening two runs before Austin Schaler went yard in the sixth with a three-run home run.
The following day was a doubleheader sweep for NNU, prevailing 11-7 and 4-1.
This spring, the Saints are 3-2 against Northwest Conference schools. In addition to their 9-1 win over PLU, the Thurston County squad has a pair of wins at the expense of George Fox (4-3 and 12-3) while dropping two on the road against Linfield (3-2 and 12-11).
Dylan McLaughlin leads the Saints at the dish, boasting a .333 batting average with 12 extra base hits and 18 RBIs. Peter Hollabaugh is hitting at a .310 clip with Hunter Sasaki the third Saint with at least 60 at-bats to hit over .300 with a .303 average with 13 RBIs. Austin Schaler provides some power and speed, leading the team in home runs (four) and stolen bases (seven).
Justice Yamashita has a team-best 2.80 earned run average on the hill with 40 strikeouts while Colin Driscoll leads the team in both innings pitched (49) and strikeouts (49).
Lutes' Rodriquez is 'Dynamite'
You've seen him on the diamond and likely seen him on social media after the Lute baseball player went viral this fall.
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 Game:
Mar. 29 vs. Whitman 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