April 26, 2008

Plenty of Offense as Lutes Split With Loggers

Game One
Game Two

Robert Bleecker

Geoff Gabler

TACOMA - Robert Bleecker picked up his sixth pitching win without a defeat this year in the opener, but Puget Sound broke through for 18 runs in the nightcap as Pacific Lutheran and the host Loggers split a Northwest Conference baseball doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.

Bleecker allowed only four hits and just one earned run in seven innings of work as the Lutes won the opener, 11-3. Jeremy Ellison finished the final two innings, allowing only one hit. Puget Sound scored the most run allowed by the Lutes in a game this season when it won an exciting 18-16 decision in the second game.

That duo got plenty of offensive support as the Lutes came up with 11 hits, including two each my Josh Takayoshi, Matt Akridge and Geoff Gabler. Takayoshi scored three runs and Gabler drove in three, including one in the first inning with a double and the other two in the third inning with a home run. The Lutes scored three more runs in the fourth on Carl Benton's RBI single and a two-run homer by Akridge. The other two runs came on the ninth inning on RBI singles by Ryan Aratani and Brandon Sales.

The Loggers had all kinds of base runners in the second game. In addition to their 20 hits, they took advantage of seven walks and five hit batsmen by a total of five PLU pitchers. Puget Sound led 12-8 through seven innings and then scored three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings.

Trailing 18-8 going into their last at-bat, the Lutes rallied for eight runs on eight singles, two walks and a UPS error. PLU had the tying runs on base when the final out was recorded.

Pacific Lutheran had 15 hits in the game including two each by Takayoshi, Gabler, Aratani, Andrew Hernandez and Ben Shively. Gabler hit his second home run of the day and his fourth overall this season leading off the sixth inning.

Bret Handy, the second of the five PLU pitchers, gave up seven earned runs on eight hits in just two innings and took the loss.

The two teams conclude their seasons with a pair of seven-inning games starting at noon at the UPS diamond.

- PLU -