PORTLAND, Ore.—Pacific Lutheran University used strong relief pitching all afternoon long to earn a doubleheader sweep of host Lewis & Clark College on Saturday at the Huston Sports Complex. 

Senior Olivia Brackin and sophomore Alyssa Hoeke paced the Pioneers on the day with three hits apiece. 

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GAME ONE KEY MOMENTS: 3-2 PACIFIC LUTHERAN 

Lewis & Clark took an early 2-0 lead but the Lutes responded with a three-run top of the fifth inning and held on for a 3-2 victory. 

After the Pioneers scored two runs in two-plus innings against senior Cassidy Conrad, the Lutes turned to Emma Ware and she was extremely solid in closing the game out. The sophomore went five innings and allowed three hits and struck out one to earn the win. 

Alyssa Abe took the loss after scattering six hits and three earned runs over seven innings.  

Offensively, Lily Moffitt and Hoeke each finished with a hit and a run scored and Kalea Kaui and Brackin tacked on a hit apiece. Mari Alvarez was the lone Pioneer to reach twice-as she worked a pair of walks. 

Lewis & Clark scored their two runs in the third. Hoeke reached on an error to start the inning and Conrad walked the next three batters, including a bases-loaded walk to Samantha Gildersleeve, to make it 1-0 Pioneers. The hosts added a run two batters later, when Riley Anderson beat out a potential double play ball to score Moffitt and make it 2-0. 

The Lutes finally got to Abe in the fifth. With two outs, Brooke Tilson recorded an RBI single and Chaella Galapon followed with a two-run homer to give Pacific Lutheran a 3-2 lead. 

Lewis & Clark put a runner on in the sixth and seventh innings but couldn't manufacture a rally to tie the game. 

GAME TWO KEY MOMENTS: PACIFIC LUTHERAN 5-3

Lewis & Clark jumped on the Lutes starter once again, but Amaya Smith came in and was strong in relief and the Lutes used a three-run to fifth to secure the sweep. 

Hoeke and Brackin each went 2-3 with a run scored in the loss. Kaui and Alvarez added a hit and an RBI each and Moffitt walked twice and scored a run. 

In the circle, Cassidy Crusberg took the loss after allowing six hits and five runs (three earned) over five innings. Kylie Hill and Abe each threw a scoreless inning of relief. 

Smith was the star for the Lutes in the win. She came on in the bottom of the first inning with two runs already in and two runners on. The freshman retired the next three batters to keep the game 2-2 and went 6.1 innings total while allowing just one earned run. Ware, the game one winner, recorded the final two outs to earn the save.  

After a Molly House two-run homer gave the Lutes a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, Lewis & Clark responded with two of their own in the bottom of the inning. 

Hoeke and Moffitt started the inning with back-to-back walks and moved up an extra base on a wild pitch. Alvarez cut the deficit in half with an RBI single and Gildersleeve followed with an RBI single of her own to tie the game. 

In the fifth inning, Pacific Lutheran used a single and an error to plate two runs to take a 4-2 lead. The Lutes added one more run in the inning on a passed ball to claim a three-run advantage. 

Lewis & Clark cut the deficit to two in the sixth. Brackin singled with one out, moved to second on a groundout and raced home on Kaui's two-out RBI double. 

The Pioneers brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the seventh, but Ware induced a game-ending double-play ball to seal the victory. 

DEEPER LOOK 

• Saturday's games marked Lewis & Clark's conference home-opening games and the team's first home games in a month. 
• Five of Pacific Lutheran's eight runs on the day came in the fifth inning.
• Hoeke is riding a three-game hit and run streak. She is 5-10 with three runs scored and a walk in her past three contests. 
• Abe has appeared in the circle in every game this season. She allowed just one earned run in her five relief appearances (7.2 innings pitched). 

WHO'S NEXT  

The Pioneers will look to snap Pacific Lutheran's four-game winning streak on Sunday. The two teams will meet at the Huston Sports Complex at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.