TACOMA, Wash.—Lewis & Clark College baseball sophomore Will Michelman drove in five runs, to help the River Otters earn their third Northwest Conference series victory of the season on Sunday. 
 
THE BASICS 
 
Lewis & Clark 10, University of Puget Sound 4
(Lewis & Clark 12-10, NWC 7-4) 
(Puget Sound 13-9, NWC 4-5) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Lewis & Clark scored five runs across the third and fourth innings to take control and used solid pitching to pick up their third conference series win in four tries. 
 
Michelman led the offensive attack. He finished 3-4 with a run scored, five RBI, a walk and two doubles. 
 
Junior Bret Potter and sophomore Jacob Shannon-Wilkerson added two hits and two RBI apiece. Potter went 2-5 with a run scored and two RBI. Shannon-Wilkerson tacked on two hits, a run scored, two RBI, a double and a stolen base. Both players added a hit by pitch. 
 
Juniors Eli Steinhaus and Michael Aikawa each had very productive days at the top of the lineup. Steinhaus went 0-1 with four walks, four runs scored and a hit by pitch. Aikawa added a hit, three runs and three walks. 
 
First year Calvin Martinez earned his first collegiate conference win. The first year went five innings and scattered four hits, no walks, two runs and struck out two. Sophomore Dillon Foster gave up two hits, one run and struck out two over two innings. Senior Nate Kerr threw the final two innings and allowed two hits, an unearned run and struck out one. 
 
Lewis & Clark took the early lead for a third-straight game. Steinhaus worked a full-count walk and moved to second on a balk. With two down, Michelman ripped a double to right field to easily score Steinhaus. 
 
Puget Sound tied the game on a solo home run from Jim O'Brien in the bottom of the second. 
 
The River Otters reclaimed the lead in the top of the third. Aikawa worked a lead-off walk and Potter singled to put runners on the corners to open the frame. Michelman walked to load the bases and junior Dylan Lee was hit by a pitch to make it 2-1. With the bases still loaded and two down, Shannon-Wilkerson ripped a single through the left side to score Potter and Michelman to push the lead to 4-1. 
 
Lewis & Clark would add two more runs in the fourth. Steinhaus led off with a walk and Aikawa followed with a single. After a wild pitch moved both runners up 90 feet, Michelman belted a two-run double to left-center to extend the lead to 6-1. 
 
Puget Sound would scratch across a single run in the fourth and sixth innings to cut the deficit to 6-3 after seven. 
 
Lewis & Clark added some key insurance runs in the final two frames. In the eighth, Steinhaus and Aikawa reached on a hit by pitch and walk. Potter and Michelman followed with RBI singles to push the lead back to 8-3. 
 
Lewis & Clark made it 10-3 in the top of the ninth. Shannon-Wilkerson (hit by pitch), Steinhaus (walk) and Aikawa (walk) reached base to load the bases with one out. Potter plated Shannon-Wilkerson with a hit by pitch and Michelman tacked on a sacrifice fly to close out the Lewis & Clark scoring. 
 
Puget Sound scored an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth, but Kerr induced a groundout to third base to close out the win. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Lewis & Clark has won five of their past six games and back-to-back conference series. The River Otters have already posted series wins over NWC foes Pacific Lutheran University (2-1), Whitman College (3-0) and Puget Sound (2-1). 
• A day after striking out 26 batters, Lewis & Clark's three pitchers only struck out four. The River Otters managed to issue no walks and no hit by pitches. On the flip side, Puget Sound matched their 15 strikeouts with nine walks and six hit by pitches. 
• Lee recorded three of the River Otters six hit by pitches on Sunday. The junior is tied for the team lead with Brandon Gonzaga with six hit by pitches on the season. 
• Baseball avoided walking a batter for the second time this season. They also issued no free passes on February 28 against PLU. 
• The River Otters tied their season-high with six hit by pitches in a single game. 

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will host Linfield University on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in a non-conference tilt. The game was originally supposed to play last Tuesday but was postponed due to rain.