April 22, 2007

Lutes Sweep Lewis & Clark in Conference Twinbill

Game One
Game Two

Karen Henjum - three hits, two RBI in opener

Cassie Canales - had big second game

PORTLAND, Ore. - Pacific Lutheran swept a pair of Northwest Conference softball games from the host Lewis & Clark Pioneers on Sunday afternoon at the Huston Sports Complex.

The Lutes improved their overall record to 15-14 and their conference mark to 10-14 with 4-2 and 8-0 victories. The second game ended after five innings because of the eight-run rule.

In game one, the Lutes jumped out to an early lead, translating three first inning hits into a 3-0 lead. Heather Walling led off with a single, stole second and scored on Beth Kenck's RBI double. Kenck eventually came around on Karen Henjum's single.

After the Pioneers plated an unearned run in the bottom of the inning to make it 3-1, both starting pitchers - the Lutes' Hadley Schmitt and the Pioneers' Janet Freerks - found their groove until the seventh inning. With two outs in the seventh, Carly Starke doubled and came around to score on an RBI single by Henjum, her third hit of the game. Lewis & Clark got a run back on a homer by Jessica Mullins, and the Pioneers had two aboard with one out before Schmitt worked out of the jam to secure the victory.

Schmitt allowed just one earned run on four hits while walking three and striking out 10 in the complete-game victory.

In game two, PLU starting pitcher Cassie Canales helped out her own cause before throwing a single pitch, staking her team to a 2-0 first inning lead with a two-out, two-run double. Canales also played a key role in PLU's two other rallies. She led off the fourth with her second double and accounted for one of the Lutes' four runs. Theresa Tauscher and Henjum had run-producing singles during the inning. In the fifth, Canales led off with a single and scored on a two-run home run by Alana Schutt.

Canales allowed just two hits while walking one and fanning four in the second game.

Lewis & Clark's season came to an end on Sunday as the Pioners finished with a final overall record of 4-33, including a 2-24 conference mark.

- PLU -