Feb. 1, 2008

Lutes Split Softball Opener Against Concordia-Irvine

Game One
Game Two

Rachel Wheeler-Hoyt

IRVINE, Calif. – Pacific Lutheran opened its 2008 softball season by splitting a non-conference doubleheader against Concordia-Irvine. The Lutes won the opener, 7-3 in eight innings, before dropping the second game, 1-0.

Hadley Schmitt picked up the pitching victory for the Lutes in the opener, limiting the Eagles to just five hits while walking two and striking out two. One of Concordia’s three runs was unearned.

With the score tied at 2-2 after seven innings, the Lutes won the game in the first extra inning, parlaying three hits, three walks and a wild pitch into five runs. Eryn Beal drove in the first run of the inning with a single and Vanessa Bryant finished the rally with another single. In between, Beth Haahr and Rachel Wheeler-Hoyt both drew bases-loaded walks, and another run scored on a wild pitch.

Concordia scored single runs in the first and fifth innings, but the Lutes tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the sixth inning. Stephanie Mullen, Missy Waldron and Sheila Reiten collected consecutive singles to open the inning. After a fielder’s choice and a strikeout, Wheeler-Hoyt hit a double to left-centerfield to drive in two runs.

Reiten and Waldron both had a pair of singles to lead PLU’s eight-hit attack, while Wheeler-Hoyt drove in three runs.

Wheeler-Hoyt was the hard-luck loser for the Lutes in the second game as she allowed only the one run on three hits while walking three and striking out two. Concordia scored the game’s only run in the fourth inning on a leadoff double and a one-out RBI single.

The Lutes had several scoring chances in the game as they collected seven hits and left eight runners on base. In the second inning, Stephanie Johnston singled with one out and Carly Starke doubled with two outs, but the runners were left stranded on a fly out. PLU left two more on base in the third inning after singles by Reiten and Beal, and in the fourth, Johnston led off with a double and reached third base with one out, but she was left there. The last chance came in the fifth inning when the Lutes again stranded a pair of base runners.

Johnston led the Lutes with a pair of hits.

PLU returns to action at noon Saturday with a doubleheader against Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, Calif.

- PLU -