Pacific Lutheran baseball is in the
midst of its finest stretch in program history,
culminating with the 2007 Northwest Conference championship,
the first baseball title at PLU since the 1954 season.
The future appears to hold more of the same.
For the first time ever, Pacific Lutheran has recorded
four straight seasons of at least 20 wins, including
a school-record 35 victories in 2007. At the same
time, the Lutes have moved into the realm of consistent
Northwest Conference title contender.
The Lutes' on-field success coincides with the
arrival of Geoff Loomis, who took over as PLU baseball
coach in 2003. In Loomis’ five seasons, the
Lutes have re-written the record books in most individual
and team offensive categories.
According to records kept since 1949, no Pacific
Lutheran team prior to the 1992 squad had garnered
20 wins in a season. Between 1992 and 2003, the
PLU baseball started to turn the corner as seven
teams finished with at least 20 wins. The highlight
of that string was the former school-record of 26
victories in 1994.
 The
quality of players within the program during the
last decade has coincided with the re-writing of
the PLU baseball record books. For instance, Jason
Andrew, who played minor league baseball for three
seasons, established career records for victories,
innings pitched and strikeouts. Joe DiPietro, a
two-time Northwest Conference pitcher of the year,
set a record with 11 pitching wins in 2007. Jay
Chennault, who graduated in 2000, set new career
records for batting average, at bats, runs, hits,
doubles and runs batted in. He also holds numerous
single-season records.
Pacific Lutheran has a long baseball heritage dating
back nearly 100 years. In the early 1900s, O.T.
Harstad, the son of the school's founder, Rev. Bjug
Harstad, was the star pitcher for Pacific Lutheran
Academy. Harstad would later face the likes of the
legendary Ty Cobb as a major league pitcher.
Yearly spring break trips to warm-weather, baseball-friendly
locations provide PLU baseball teams with an opportunity
to face challenging competition. In recent years,
for instance, the Lutes have played in Arizona and
California. The games, generally played in sunshine
and warm breezes and away from the dampness of the
Pacific Northwest spring, help prepare the Lutes
for their challenging conference season.
Contact Info:
Head Coach Geoff Loomis
Memorial Gymnasium
Pacific Lutheran University
Tacoma, WA 98447
Phone: (253) 535-8789
Email: loomisgs@plu.edu
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