PORTLAND, Ore.—Pacific Lutheran University struck for three runs in the top of the ninth inning to claim an 11-8 win over Lewis & Clark College baseball in a back-and-forth rubber match on Sunday at Jerry Gatto Field. 

THE BASICS
Pacific Lutheran 11, Lewis & Clark 8
(Lewis & Clark 13-13-1, Northwest Conference 4-8) 
(Pacific Lutheran 11-17, NWC 6-8) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Both teams came back from multiple-run deficits on Sunday but the Lutes had the final say, as they used a pair of big two-out hits in the ninth to earn the series victory. 
 
Junior Will Heron led Lewis & Clark offensively with three hits, a run scored and three RBI. Heron produced a double and a home run, along with a huge defensive play in the ninth. 
 
Senior Jack Savant added two hits in three at-bats and chipped in a run scored, an RBI and a walk. 
 
Senior Luke Bass walked three times, scored once and drove in a run and junior Brennen Davis added a homer, two runs scored, two walks and an RBI.
 
Sophomore Nate Kerr made his first collegiate start in his 18^th collegiate appearance. He kept the Pioneers in the game by going five innings, while allowing six hits, three walks, five runs (four earned) and striking out four. 
 
Senior closer Anthony Clerici tied his season-high by throwing three innings in relief. Clerici gave up three earned runs in his first inning of work but limited the damage to three hits, one walk and three runs. Clerici added one strikeout. 
 
After Pacific Lutheran scored three runs in the top of the first off three singles, a walk, a hit by pitch and an error, Lewis & Clark tied the game in the bottom of the inning. 
 
Brandon Gonzaga, Gavin Mangano and Davis walked to load the bases with no outs. Bass put the Pioneers on the board with a sacrifice fly to center. Heron followed with a double off the walk in center field to make it 2-0 and Jakob Ghammachi tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center. 
 
Lewis & Clark took their only lead of the game in the third inning. Davis opened the frame with a towering home run to left field. Bass followed with a walk to end Lutes starter Jon Crawley's outing. Heron greeted reliever Jonathan Cohen with a two-run blast well over the left-field fence to make it 6-3 Lewis & Clark. 
 
Pacific Lutheran cut the deficit to 6-5 in the fourth. With two outs, Aaron Barber hit a long home run to right field to drive in two runs.
 
The visitors took an 8-6 lead in the top of the sixth inning. With two down, Pacific Lutheran recorded back-to-back singles on grounders through the infield. Ashton Barton made the Pioneers pay with a three-run homer down the left-field line to make it 8-6. 
 
Lewis & Clark tied the game for the second time in the bottom of the sixth. Michael Aikawa worked a four-pitch walk to start the inning and end Cohen's day. Aikawa took second on a wild pitch and third on a Joaquin Sandoval fly out to center. Aikawa raced home on a Savant infield single. With two down, Mangano was hit by a pitch and Davis walked to load the bases. Bass engaged in a lengthy at-bat with reliever Logan Egge, before eventually working a full-count walk.
 
Lewis & Clark had a great chance to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Savant opened the frame by lining a single off the pitcher. He took second on a Gonzaga bunt and raced to third on Mangano's single to left-center. Trever Mason got out of the jam with a double-play ball hit back to the second-base bag. 
 
Pacific Lutheran took their third and final lead in the ninth. With one out, Barton and Brody Phinney recorded back-to-back base hits to put runners at second and third. Rochne Beecham ripped a grounder to first base but Heron snagged it and took it to the bag for the second out. Carson Burke came through for the visitors with a two-run single and Hayden Kaiser added a double just inside the left-field line to make it 11-8. 
 
The Pioneers put one runner on in the bottom of the inning but couldn't scratch across a run. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Heron finished the week with hits in all four games and posted nine hits in 16 at-bats with four runs, 10 RBI and five extra-base hits. 
• Savant sits one run scored away from cracking the top-10 (106) in program history. He has scored at least 12 runs in each of the past four years and 19 or more in the last three seasons. 
• Kerr went five innings for the second time in his collegiate career. Last Saturday, Kerr threw a career-high 5.2 innings in a win over George Fox University. 
• All three of Pacific Lutheran University starters this weekend failed to get an out in the third inning. Lewis & Clark scored 12 runs in six innings against Pacific Lutheran's starters. 

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will close out non-conference play on Tuesday, when they travel to Linfield University for a 5 p.m. contest. The Pioneers earned a series victory (2-1) over Linfield on March 23-24.