Setting the Scene: The Lutes cap off a four-game homestand today for a rare midweek non-conference tilt with Alfred State making a stop to PLU Field.
Series History: The Lutes and Pioneers have never met on the diamond. In fact, since the 1980 season, PLU has never faced a team from the State of New York. Since the 1980, the Lutes own a 3-2 record against squads from the Northeast, owning a 2-1 record against Eastern Connecticut State and going 1-0 against both Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-Camden.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (3-9, 2-3 NWC) won its first Northwest Conference series of the season over the weekend, taking two of three from previously unbeaten Willamette.
The Lutes outslugged Willamette 7-2 in the series opener on Saturday before grinding out a 1-0 decision in game two for the doubleheader sweep. The tide turned on Sunday with the Bearcats scoring late to secure a 9-5 win to avoid the sweep.
In game one, Jonathan Cohen tossed 6 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to get the win, striking out four. A Brody Phinney double in the third inning brought in the winning score while Brayden Adcox belted a two-run home run in the seventh.
Ashton Barton went yard in game two during the second inning in what turned out to be the game's only run. Chris Moreno registered 11 strikeouts in just 5 1/3 innings of action while Anthony Adams tallied the save after allowing just one hit over the final 3 2/3 innings.
A Rochne Beecham single scored two runs to tie the game at 5-5 on Sunday in the seventh inning but the Bearcats exploded for four runs in the eighth. PLU had the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the ninth but Willamette's closer got a strikeout to preserve the win.
Aaron Barber leads the Lutes at the plate with a .326 batting average with three doubles and seven RBIs. Hayden Kaiser has a .263 average while Barton has a team-best two home runs. Rutger Youch has scored a team-high nine runs while Rochne Beacham is tied with Barber for the team lead in RBIs with seven.
Chris Moreno leads the Lutes in both innings pitched (17 1/3) and strikeouts (23) with a 5.19 earned run average. Kamryn Swartz has 10 punchouts and is one of four Lutes with at least 10 innings pitched.
About the Pioneers: Alfred State (4-7), members of the Division III Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, look to snap a three-game slide today.
The New York-based Pioneers opened up a nine-game tour against the Northwest Conference against the Lutes' crosstown nemesis Puget Sound, dropping all three games.
Alfred State fell into an early hole and mustered just four hits in a 7-3 setback to the Loggers in the opener on Saturday before suffering a walkoff loss in game two with UPS sneaking out the 3-2 win.
The misery continued for the Pioneers on Sunday, getting edge 6-5 despite out hitting the Logger 12-10.
Tyler Korsky is on fire through the opening 11 games, boasting a .488 batting average with 13 RBIs. Elijah Barinas is hitting at a .419 clip with four extra base hits while Jacl Curabba is a .302 hitter with a team-high 14 RBIs.
Jon White is the workhorse on the hill with 22 strikeouts in 26 innings of work, including two complete games while Ryan Bailey has 18 punchouts.
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. 26 vs. Saint Martin's at 3 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