Baseball - Pacific Lutheran University

March 18, 2007

Lutes Take Two From Boxers, Finish NWC Baseball Sweep

Ryan Thorne - seven steals in three games

Brett Brunner - wins game three

TACOMA, Wash. – Pacific Lutheran finished a Northwest Conference baseball sweep of the visiting Pacific Boxers, winning a pair of games on Sunday at the PLU field. The Lutes took the completion of Saturday’s suspended second game, 20-3, then wrapped up the series with a 7-5 victory.

With the wins, the Lutes improve to 13-5 overall and to 4-2 in the conference. Pacific, which opened the conference season with two straight wins, is now 2-7 in the NWC and 5-9 overall.

The Lutes used three big innings, including a 10-run seventh, to beat the Boxers in the second game of the series.

PLU scored four runs in the third inning on Saturday before rain suspended the game. When the two teams came back to the field on Sunday, the Lutes scored five times in the fifth and put the game away with 10 runs in the seventh inning. Jordan Chargaulaf hit an RBI single in his first collegiate at-bat in the inning, and Matt Akridge added a three-run double.

The Lutes pounded out 15 hits in support of winning pitcher Robert Bleecker, who took the mound in place of starter Hunter Simpson when the game resumed on Sunday. Bleecker allowed one run on four hits in four innings of work. Jeremy Ellison pitched the final two innings, allowing one unearned run.

Zach Gantenbein had three hits to lead the Boxers’ nine-hit offense. Frankie Guros and Nick McNeely both added a pair of base hits for Pacific.

Ryan Thorne, Tyler Green, Justin Whitehall, Logan Andrews and Brandon Sales all had a pair of hits for the Lutes, and Thorne added four runs, three RBI and two steals. Jared Simon also drove in three runs and Sales scored three times for the winners.

In the series finale, the Boxers rallied from a 2-0 deficit with three unearned runs in the third inning. Robbie Newbill hit a one-out single and moved up a base on Gantenbein’s bunt single. The Lutes then misplayed a potential double play grounder with Newbill scoring on the play. After a fly out, Nick McNeely drove a two-run double to the right-center gap against PLU starter Brett Brunner.

Other than the third, Brunner was tough for the Lutes. The left-hander allowed the three unearned runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out three.

Pacific Lutheran regained the lead with a four-run fifth inning. Jordan Post and Green led off the inning with singles against Pacific starter and loser Brandon Larson, and Whitehall’s sacrifice bunt moved the runners up one base. Andrews greeted relief pitcher Andrew Curtin with a game-tying single, and the Lutes took the lead on a bases-loaded fielder’s choice by Bryce Depew. Jared Simon and Roger Guzman had back-to-back RBI singles to close out the four-run outburst.

PLU added an unearned run in the seventh on Ryan Thorne’s looping RBI single down the right field line.

Pacific’s final runs came in the eighth on Gantenbein’s two-run homer of the left field fence. It was Gantenbein’s first homer of the year and wrapped up his great day at the plate. The Pacific shortstop and leadoff hitter had six hits in 10 at-bats, scored three runs and drove in two more.

PLU had 13 hits in the series finale, including three by Green and two each by Guzman and Andrews. Thorne, the Lutes’ senior centerfielder, had a stolen base in the game and finished the three-game series with seven steals.

The Lutes return to action at 3 p.m. Wednesday when they host the Puget Sound Loggers in a non-conference game.

- PLU -