March 3, 2007

Stanford, Whitehall Deliver, Lutes Hold On to Beat Menlo, 4-3

Line Score

Dylan Stanford

Justin Whitehall

ATHERTON, Calif. – Dylan Stanford coaxed a bases-loaded ground ball for the final out of the game as the Pacific Lutheran Lutes held on to defeat the Menlo Oaks, 4-3, in the first game of a three-game series at Cartan Field.

The second game of Saturday’s doubleheader was suspended by darkness with Menlo leading 6-5 after seven innings.

Pacific Lutheran scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning to take a 4-2 lead entering the bottom of the ninth, but the Oaks got one run back on a one-out home run by Chris Budelli. After another out, Andrews suffered a streak of wildness and walked the bases loaded. Stanford, a right-handed sophomore, got Matt Medina to hit a brounder to Brett Brunner for the final out.

The Lutes opened the scoring in the first inning when Ryan Thorne hit a two-out single to drive in Roger Guzman, who opened the frame with a single. Menlo tied the score in the second, but PLU regained a one-run advantage in the fourth, scoring on a two-out error. The Oaks again knotted the score with a run in the eighth inning, but the Lutes had an answer in the ninth.

With one out, Tyler Green and Jordan Post drew walks and Thorne was hit by a pitch. Justin Whitehall then delivered the key blow, a two-run double to left-center field. That set the stage for Stanford’s last-out heroics in the bottom of the inning.

Joe DiPietro earned the victory for the Lutes, limiting the Oaks to two runs on five hits. DiPietro, the 2006 Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Year, struck out eight and walked just one in eight innings of work. Stanford picked up his first save of the year.

The Lutes finished with nine hits, including two each from Post, Kris Hansen and Bryce Depew.

The teams will complete the second game of the doubleheader on Sunday, prior to the start of the regularly scheduled nine-inning series finale.

- PLU -