PORTLAND, Ore. – Lewis & Clark College baseball dropped both games of Saturday's doubleheader against Pacific Lutheran University at Jerry Gatto Field, falling 18-5 in the opener and 7-4 in the nightcap.
 
THE BASICS
 
Pacific Lutheran 18, Lewis & Clark 5
Pacific Lutheran 7, Lewis & Clark 4
(Lewis & Clark 2-4)
(Pacific Lutheran 2-3)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Senior Joaquin Sandoval paced the River Otters at the plate in game one, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI. First-year Garrett Lewis hit his first career home run in his first collegiate at-bat in the seventh, and senior Ryan Sanderson added an RBI double in the ninth. Senior Nate Kerr took the loss on the mound, allowing eight runs (six earned) on eight hits in three innings.
 
In game two, junior Bret Potter went 3-for-3 with a double, and sophomore Jacob Shannon-Wilkerson homered and drove in two runs. Junior Owen Eisen struck out eight over 4 2/3 innings. Lewis & Clark rallied from a 4-1 deficit to tie the game in the sixth before Pacific Lutheran scored three in the eighth to pull ahead.
 
GAME ONE RECAP
 
Lewis & Clark trailed 2-0 after the Lutes' first at-bat but scored in the bottom of the inning. Senior Brandon Gonzaga walked, stole second and scored on a Sandoval double to left-center to cut the deficit to 2-1.
 
Pacific Lutheran pushed its lead to 4-1 in the second on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single. The River Otters pulled within one in the third when Sandoval doubled to left to drive in junior Michael Aikawa. Junior Dylan Lee followed with a sacrifice fly to score Sandoval and make it 4-3.
 
The Lutes added four runs in the fourth on a two-run double, an RBI double and a sacrifice fly to build an 8-3 lead. Pacific Lutheran then scored nine runs on seven hits in the sixth to extend its advantage to 17-3.
 
Lewis hit a solo home run down the right-field line in the seventh for Lewis & Clark's fourth run. Sanderson added an RBI double in the ninth to close the scoring.
 
GAME TWO RECAP
                     
Shannon-Wilkerson gave Lewis & Clark a 1-0 lead in the second inning with a solo shot to left-center.
 
The River Otters held the advantage through four innings before Pacific Lutheran scored three in the fifth and added another run in the sixth to take a 4-1 lead.
 
Lewis & Clark answered with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Gonzaga singled and scored three batters later on a single up the middle by junior Gavin Mangano. Sanderson, pinch-hitting for junior Evan Maury, singled to third to score Potter. Shannon-Wilkerson followed with a single through the left side to plate Mangano and tie the game at 4-4.
 
The score remained tied until the eighth, when Pacific Lutheran hit a three-run homer to right field off sophomore Dillon Foster to take a 7-4 lead.
 
Lewis & Clark put a runner in scoring position in each of the final two innings. First-year Lennox Bray doubled in the eighth, and junior Evyn Lewis singled in the ninth, but neither scored.
 
Foster took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings. Sophomore Matt Stanislavsky struck out two in a scoreless ninth.
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Shannon-Wilkerson drove in two of Lewis & Clark's four runs in game two with his second-inning homer and sixth-inning single.
• Potter went 3-for-3 with a double in game two after going hitless in five at-bats in the opener.
• Eisen struck out six of the first eight batters in game two and accounted for eight of the first nine outs of the game.
• First years Yuma Noda and G. Lewis each made their collegiate debuts in game one on Saturday.  
• Sophomore Sam Burchi threw two scoreless innings in game one in his season debut. 

WHO'S NEXT
 
The Lutes return to Portland on Saturday for a Northwest Conference doubleheader. The games are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at Gatto Field.