PORTLAND, Ore. - Pacific Lutheran pitchers combined for 30 strikeouts in two games today as the Lutes defeated Corban, 8-1, and Concordia, 3-0, at the CCC-NWC Baseball Challenge at Concordia's Porter Park.
Chris Bishop and AJ Konopaski combined for 18 strikeouts, thought to be a PLU single-game record, in the victory over Concordia.
The Lutes, now 7-3 for the season, finished with a 3-1 record in the three-day tournament pitting teams from the Cascade Collegiate Conference and the Northwest Conference. In those four games totaling 36 innings, PLU pitchers allowed just five earned runs.
Game One - PLU 8, Corban 1
Trevor Lubking struck out eight batters in five innings of work and the bottom four hitters in the PLU lineup combined for nine hits, seven runs and six RBI.
Lubking improved his season record to 2-0 by allowing one run on five hits and a walk. Jacob Otness struck out two batters in two innings, Cory Nelson fanned two in one inning, and Nathan Shoup finished the game with a scoreless ninth for PLU.
The Lutes broke open a close game with three runs in the top of the fourth, including a RBI double by seventh hitter Carson McCord and a run-scoring ground out by eighth hitter Curtis Wildung. PLU put the final nail in the coffin with two runs in the eighth, with ninth hitter Nicholas Hall hitting his second double of the game to drive in both runs.
Drew Oord, the sixth hitter, had to hits and two runs scored, McCord had a hit, RBI and scored twice, Wildung finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI, and Hall was 3-for-3 with one run scored and two RBI. Wildung produced a run-scoring triple in the second, a solo homer in the sixth and a double in the eighth.
Game Two - PLU 3, Concordia 0
Sophomore starting pitcher Bishop dominated the Concordia lineup through seven innings of work. He allowed just six hits and two walks while striking out 14. Konopaski earned the save with two innings of relief work. He allowed just one hit and fanned four batters.
The pitcher's duel between the Lutes and Cavaliers was decided when Pacific Lutheran scored three unearned runs in the top of the eighth inning. McCord led off by reaching on an error, and after a balk and Wildung's sacrifice, he scored on a throwing error. Another error led to two base runners, and both scored on a two-out, two-run single by Dominick Courcy.
Pacific Lutheran opens its Northwest Conference schedule next weekend when it hosts the Willamette Bearcats in a three-game series. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 11 a.m. before coming back at 11 a.m. on Sunday for a single nine-inning game.
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