April 6, 2008

Lutes Slam Boxers in Second Game, Earn Split

Carly Starke - grand slam in second game

Game One
Game Two

FOREST GROVE, Ore. - Pacific and Pacific Lutheran traded strong hitting performances Sunday as the teams split a Northwest Conference softball doubleheader at Sherman/Larkins Stadium.

In the opener, Pacific used a pair of four-run innings and five two-hit performances from their batters to take an 11-3, six-inning victory. In the nightcap, it was PLU with the hot hitting to hand Pacific just their third loss of the season, 7-1. The win ended a seven-game PLU losing streak.

Miranda McNealy collected her 13th win of the season for the Boxers in the opener, allowing three runs, two earned, on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts. Hadley Schmitt, from nearby Gaston, took her second loss of the series.

In game two, PLU opened the scoring in the second to take its first lead of the series. Beth Haahr put the Lutes on the board when her single scored Sheila Reiten and Missy Waldron made it 2-0 when her single scored Rachel Wheeler-Hoyt. PLU opened up a 3-0 lead in the third when Shelby Johnston scored on a double by Wheeler-Hoyt.

Pitcher Andrea Bansen pitched out of a jam in the fifth, but loaded the bases in the top of the sixth with one out. Pacific coach Tim Hill opted to bring McNealy into the game, and she proceeded to strike out the first batter she faced before Carly Starke took the first pitch she saw to left center field for a grand slam home run that put the Lutes up, 7-1.

Wheeler-Hoyt, meanwhile, did her part to quell a pair of Pacific rallies in the sixth and seventh to earn her seventh win of the season, allowing one run on seven hits and one walk with four strikeouts. Bansen took the loss for Pacific, allowing six runs on eight hits and three walks with one strikeout in 5 1/3 innings.

After playing 24 of its first 28 games away from home, Pacific Lutheran plays 10 of its final 12 games at home, starting with conference series next Saturday against defending champion Linfield and on Sunday against Willamette.

(Courtesy of Pacific Sports Information)