April 20, 2008

Lutes Finish Conference Baseball Sweep of Whitman

Saturday Game Two
Sunday Game One
Sunday Game Two

William "Trey" Watt

PARKLAND, Wash. – Pacific Lutheran won a game suspended from Saturday before taking both ends of Sunday’s doubleheader to finish off a Northwest Conference baseball series sweep of the visiting Whitman Missionaries.

The Lutes (22-12-2 overall, 19-9 NWC) won Saturday’s suspended contest, 8-3, and took Sunday’s games by 13-1 and 7-0 scores.

Paul DiPietro was the winning pitcher in the suspended game, allowing just one earned run on five hits in six innings of work. The Lutes managed only seven hits against a trio of Whitman (2-34 / 0-28) pitchers, but a four-run second inning paved the way to the victory. Andrew Hernandez ripped a two-run homer and Sammy Davis drove in three runs in the victory. Micah Babbitt had three of Whitman’s 10 hits.

In Sunday’s opener, PLU senior Brett Brunner went the seven-inning distance, allowing one run on six hits while walking two and striking out seven to improve to 3-3. The Lutes took a slim 2-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning before finally getting to Whitman starter Pete Stadmeyer for five runs. They added six more tallies in the sixth inning and finished the game with 15 hits. Ryan Aratani had three hits and Hernandez and Josh Takayoshi added two each, while Carl Benton drove in three runs for PLU. Erik Korsmo, Adam Knappe and Dan White evenly shared the Missionaries’ six hits.

William “Trey” Watt improved his pitching record to 5-1 with a complete-game three-hitter in the series finale. The sophomore right-hander from Tualatin, Ore., didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven in throwing his second complete game in six starts this season.

The Lutes supported Watt with a 10-hit attack. Jordan Post had three hits and scored three runs, Geoff Gabler had two hits and drove in four runs, and Aratani added two more hits.

Pacific Lutheran closes its 2008 season next weekend with a four-game series at Puget Sound.

- PLU -