May 17, 2007

The Thrill of Victory as Lutes Win Again at Regional Tournament

Line Score

Jordan Post - three hits, two RBI

Roger Guzman - three hits, two runs

ORANGE, Calif. – It was the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, and the thrill of victory, and it all came in a crazy ninth inning.

Fortunately for Pacific Lutheran, the thrill of victory part came last as the Lutes defeated Texas Lutheran, 9-8, in a winner’s bracket game at the NCAA Division III West Region baseball tournament at Hart Park.

The Lutes saw a five-run lead vanish as the Bulldogs scored six runs in the top of the ninth to take an 8-7 lead. PLU refused to lose, scoring two runs on four straight hits in the bottom of the inning to salvage the victory.

With the win, Pacific Lutheran improves its record-setting season record to 34-7, and it also moves on to play No. 2-ranked Chapman at noon Friday in a battle of the tournament’s unbeaten teams.

Pacific Lutheran’s usually reliable defense – the Lutes led the nation with a .975 fielding percentage – committed two errors that led to two unearned runs and a 2-0 deficit in the third. After that, starting pitcher Brett Brunner held Texas Lutheran at bay while his teammates responded with their second consecutive 17-hit game.

The Lutes got one run back in the third inning when Jordan Post delivered one of his three singles to drive in Roger Guzman, who reached base on the first of his three base hits. PLU took a 4-2 lead in the fifth, making the most of two Texas Lutheran errors and three hits. Post had his second RBI single in the frame.

When Pacific Lutheran scored three more runs in the bottom of the eighth on a two-run double by Jared Simon and a run-scoring double by Ryan Thorne, the Lutes led 7-2 and the game seemed well in hand.

After giving up a two-run homer, however, Brunner was pulled in favor of Dylan Stanford. Things fell apart for the sophomore reliever as he hit a batter and gave up three straight run-scoring hits. By the time the inning was over, the Bulldogs had an 8-7 lead.

PLU head coach Geoff Loomis had one message for his team: don’t panic.

Tyler Green and Justin Whitehall led off the bottom of the ninth with back-to-back line drive singles, and both runners moved up a base on a balk. Logan Andrews, whose eighth inning error aided Texas Lutheran’s rally, then drove in Green with another line drive single. With Whitehall on third, Matt Akridge singled sharply off the glove of diving Texas Lutheran first baseman Jason Foley for the winning run.

“We weren’t going to lose the game,” said Whitehall, who finished the game with three hits.

“The fact that we didn’t panic was the key to this happening,” said Loomis. “It shows the character of our team and the absolute will to keep this thing going.”

- PLU -