Game 1: PLU 6, Whitworth 3 (Complete box and play by play)
Game 2: Whitworth 5, PLU 1 (8 inn.) (Complete box and play by play)

Eckhoff won her second game of the series

TACOMA, Wash. - (From Dave Girrard, PLU SID) For the second straight day, Whitworth and Pacific Lutheran settled for a split in a Northwest Conference softball doubleheader. The Lutes won the first game 6-3 before the Pirates took the second game 5-1 on the PLU field.

The Lutes now stand at 9-3 overall, 6-2 in conference games while Whitworth is 5-5 overall, 5-3 in the conference.

Whitworth jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first game. Lindsay Davis led off the game with a home run, and the Pirates added two in the third one Heather Case's RBI groundout and Sarah Froman's run-scoring single.

Beth Kenck singled in two runs in the fourth to get PLU on the scoreboard. The Lutes won the game in the sixth inning, scoring four runs on six hits. Kenck, Ericka Hazen and Gretchen Ruecker all had RBI singles in the inning, with Ashley Lopez scoring the other run on a wild pitch.

Candace Howard (3-0) was the winning pitcher. Jo Sonnett (3-3) took the loss.

Whitworth again took the early lead in the second game, scoring three runs in the first inning on a two-run PLU error and Froman's sacrifice fly. The Lutes answered with one run in the bottom of the inning, but managed to get just four batters on base the rest of the game against Whitworth pitcher Jennifer Eckhoff.

Kristin Hanson's two-run triple in the fourth inning ended the scoring.

Eckhoff recorded her second win in three decisions for Whitworth. Ashley Lopez (2-2) took the loss.

Whitworth will now take a break from Northwest Conference play as the Pirates head into spring break. Whitworth will return home to host Eastern Oregon on Sunday, March 19 in a doubleheader that begins at 11:00 am. The Mountaineers are 2-8 so far this season. Whitworth beat EOU twice last year in the season-opening series. The Mountaineers went on to finish 30-15 and make the NAIA playoffs.