Brown, Liebe Earn First Team All-Conference Honors

BROWN, LIEBE PICKED TO FIRST TEAM: Sophomore shortstop Caitlin Brown (Salem, Ore. / Sprague HS) and freshman catcher Jordan Liebe (Camas, Wash. / Camas HS) have earned 2009 All-Northwest Conference first team honors as voted on by the conference coaches. Brown, a second team all-conference pick in 2008, hit .458, including 11 doubles and two triples, in 26 conference games. Liebe finished conference play with a .440 batting average including 10 doubles, two triples and six home runs. She also drove in 33 runs in 28 conference games.

SECOND TEAM AND HONORABLE MENTION PICKS: Two other first-year PLU players earned second team honors. Second baseman Amber Roberts (Tacoma, Wash. / Wilson HS) was selected after hitting .395 and stealing 12 bases against conference foes. Stacey Hagensen (Bellevue, Wash. / Newport HS), the Lutes' leading pitcher and also a corner infielder, earned second team honors after hitting .391 with six homers and 27 RBI and finishing with an 11-5 record and a 3.51 earned run average as a pitcher. Senior outfielder Missy Waldron (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish HS) earned honorable mention recognition after hitting .318 in conference action.

LUTES MEET NWC EXPECTATIONS: After splitting their final four-game conference series against Puget Sound, the Lutes ended the 2009 season 18-22 overall and 16-12 in the conference, good for fourth place, matching the NWC coaches' preseason prediction.

A SPLIT WITH LOGGERS: Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound split four games in the season finale for both teams during the final week of April. On Saturday, the Lutes rallied for four runs in the last inning to win 5-4 and earn a split with the Loggers, who won the opening game, 6-4. Trailing -4-1, PLU got its first run after Cat Kirkevold led off with a double and pinch runner Danny Palmer scored on a bloop infield single by pinch hitter Shelby Johnston. After Brittney Weissenbuehler came in to run for Johnston, Missy Waldron kept the inning going with a single. The Lutes still faced a two-run deficit with two outs, but Caitlin Brown drilled a long double to center field to tie the game. When Stacey Hagensen legged out an infield single behind the second base bag, Brown scored from second, sliding around the tag and giving the Lutes the improbable victory. Puget Sound collected 10 hits and made the most of six Pacific Lutheran errors to win the opening game of the four-game series. For the Lutes, Amber Roberts and Brown both finished the day with four hits and Brown scored three runs and drove in three. Hagensen had three hits and drove in three runs and also picked up the pitching victory, allowing four earned runs on seven hits while striking out two. On Sunday, turnabout was fair play for Puget Sound as the Loggers rallied in the final inning of the second game for a 5-4 victory, that coming after PLU won the opener, 6-5. In the first game, the Lutes took a 1-0 lead on a RBI single by Stacey Hagensen in the top of the first, and they made it 2-0 in the fourth on a solo home run by Hagensen, her team-leading seventh of the season. PLU added two more runs in the top of the sixth when Jordan Liebe hit a run-scoring double and came in to score on a throwing error. The Loggers tied the game in the bottom of the sixth to send the game into extra innings. The Lutes took advantage, scoring two runs in the top of the eighth. Eryn Beal led off with a double and moved to third on a single by Missy Waldron, who then stole second. Liebe came through for the Lutes with a two-out, two-run single. Puget Sound scored one run against Lutes reliever Hagensen, but she recorded a strike out to end the game with the potential tying run at second base. Hagensen picked up the win to improve her record to 13-8 and she also finished with two hits, two RBI and two runs scored. Liebe added a pair of hits and three RBI as the Lutes finished the game with eight hits. Puget Sound led 3-0 after three inning of the nightcap, but Lutes designated player Cat Kirkevold got all of those back with a three-run homer to center field. The Lutes took a 4-3 lead in the top of the seventh when Crystal Reno hit a pinch-hit home run, the first of her college career. Puget Sound scored the tying run on a two-out fielding error and then won it on a RBI single by Carolyn Moore.

LUTE LEADERS: Freshman catcher Jordan Liebe led the Lutes' this season with a .400 batting average, three triple, 35 runs batted in, a .724 slugging percentage and a .440 on-base percentage. She also clubbed six homers, second most on the team. Sophomore shortstop Caitlin Brown finished with a .398 batting average and led the team with 32 runs, 47 hits and 11 doubles. Freshman second baseman Amber Roberts finished with a .368 average and led the Lutes with 12 steals. Yet another freshman, Stacey Hagensen, hit .351 and led the Lutes with seven homers while driving in 28. She also was the team's top pitcher with a 13-9 record, 19 complete games in 20 starts, and a 2.96 earned run average. A pair of seniors had solid final seasons for the Lutes - pitcher/designated player Cat Kirkevold hit .317 with two homers and 18 RBI and outfielder Missy Waldron hit .276 and stole seven bases. Junior Vanessa Bryant hit .319 with four homers this season. Playing for first-year head coach Erin Van Nostrand, the Lutes hit .293 while their opponents hit at a .322 clip. Both the Lutes and their opponents had 1,057 at bats and the run differential was close as the Lutes scored 186 times compared to 189 for their opponents. PLU was a little better in the field with a .951 fielding percentage compared to .948 for their foes.

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