SPOKANE, Wash. – Shannon Wessel and Tessa Matthews both homered to lift Whitworth to a 4-3 win in the first game on Sunday, but Pacific Lutheran claimed the nightcap 5-2 to prevent a sweep of the four-game Northwest Conference softball series at Diana Marks Field.

With the split Whitworth is now 13-5 overall and 6-2 in the NWC after taking three of four games over the weekend.  The visiting Lutes are now 4-8, 3-5 after avoiding the series sweep.

The Pirates will conclude their 12-game home stretch next weekend with four games against Pacific University.

Game 1 – Whitworth 4, PLU 3
Wessel and Matthews each hit home runs to help the Pirates rally from a 2-0 deficit. 

The Lutes grabbed a 1-0 lead against Whitworth starting pitcher Madi Perez in the top of the third inning.  Kailyn Osaki led off with a double and she eventually scored on Crysti Snyder's ground out. 

PLU added to that lead in the top of the fifth inning when Sydney Smythe opened the inning with a double.  After getting sacrificed to third base she scored on Osaki's RBI single.

Whitworth rallied in the bottom of the fifth.  Chelsey Hayes singled with two out against PLU starting pitcher Leah Butters.  Alyssa Hall followed with a walk.  Wessel then drove her first home run of the season over the wall down the left field line to give the Bucs a 3-2 lead.

PLU tied the game back up in the top of the sixth.  Snyder doubled and Samantha Boelter singled to put runners at the corners with nobody out.  Perez got the first out on a short fly ball to left field.  But Allison Behrends got a bunt down to bring home Snyder to tie the game.

But then Matthews led off the bottom of the sixth with a towering home run to center field, her first of the season, giving Whitworth the eventual winning margin.

Perez worked a perfect seventh inning to improve to 7-2 this season.  She allowed three runs on six hits with one strikeout and one walk.

Butters dropped to 2-4 after giving up four runs on 11 hits in six innings of work.  She struck out two and walked two.

Game 2 – PLU 5, Whitworth 2
Marissa Miller scattered seven hits and went the distance in the circle to lead the Lutes to the win in the series finale.

Like in the first game, PLU jumped ahead early.  The Lutes scored twice in the second inning when Elli Rassbach singled in the first run.  Jessica Alcomendas later scored on a ground out by Jessica Wallace.

The Pirates cut the lead in half in the bottom of the second on Kelsey Stroshine's RBI double.

PLU increased the lead to 4-1 in the fourth.  Osaki's sacrifice fly drove in Alcomendas, who had led off the inning with a single.  Thalen Masada followed with a run-scoring single up the middle.

Whitworth got one run back in the bottom of the fourth when Kayla Batastini singled home Matthews. 

The Lutes added an insurance run in the seven inning.  Masada reached on an error with two outs.  Snyder followed with a triple to the right field corer that drove in Masada.

Miller got out of trouble in the sixth inning when she got Megan John to line out to shortstop with two runners on base.  The Pirates also left two runners on in the seventh after getting McMahon and Matthews to ground out to end the game.

Miller improved to 2-4 this season after striking out four batters and walking three.

Makayla (6-2) Lefever suffered only her second loss of the season for Whitworth.  She allowed four earned runs on eight hits in seven innings with two strikeouts and one walk.