WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The bats just weren't able to heat up on Sunday's chilly afternoon at Borleske Stadium where Whitman College suffered an 11-0 Northwest Conference defeat at the hands of visiting Pacific Lutheran University.
The Missionaries (4-14, 3-9 NWC) collected four hits and only seven base runners against Kyle Rossman, the starting pitcher from PLU (17-7, 10-5), who pitched a complete-game shutout to improve even his season record to 2-2.
Except for three pitches Whitman starter
Will Thompson was nearly as strong. Take away those three pitches and he allows only three hits and five base runners, one via a walk and another on a fielding error, through his seven innings of work on the mound. Unfortunately, every pitch counts and those three pitches delivered four runs for PLU.
The infield error put a runner on safely in the top of the second and with two outs the Lutes' Bo Welch ripped a Thompson offering into left-center field where it bounced off the wall for a stand-up RBI triple, lifting the visitors to a 1-0 lead on an unearned run.
The second pitch Thompson wishes he could pull back came against PLU's Tyler Thompson to start the fourth. The Thompson-Thompson match-up ended with a home run over the left-field fence for a 2-0 PLU lead.
In the top of the sixth a lead-off single brought Collin Nilson to the plate where he also stroked a home run to left off Thompson, adding two more runs to Rossman's cushion.
Whitman suffered from timely fielding by PLU as much as a solid day from Rossman.
Braden Hussey reached on a one-out single in the bottom of the second but was eliminated on an inning-ending double play. A base runner in the seventh,
Joseph Zimmer who reached after being hit by a Rossman pitch, also was eliminated by a double play, and the game ended on a PLU double play following a single through the left side by Whitman's
Anthony Lim.
The Missionaries put runners in scoring position in the third,
Adrian Vela's two-out double, and fourth, with
Nick Johnson reaching via an error and moving to second when Zimmer was hit by Rossman, but neither time resulted in a run.
The Lutes broke the game open in the top of the eighth, sending 12 batters to the plate and scoring seven runs against a pair of Whitman pitchers.
Lim collected two of Whitman's four hits against Rossman, with Vela and Hussey added one apiece.
Thompson (2-1), suffering his first loss of the season, threw seven complete innings and was charged with three earned and one unearned run against six hits and a walk while fanning five.
Rossman walked only one while striking out eight in his four-hit, complete-game victory.
Whitman won the first of the three-game set on Saturday but PLU captured the final two to take the series.
The Missionaries are back at Borleske Wednesday afternoon when Whitworth University visits Walla Walla for a conference twin bill that starts at 3 p.m. and finishes under the lights.
