Zoe Lang/The Mossy Log
Lewis & Clark Baseball is ramping up for an exciting spring season following their games in California against Whittier College and Occidental College over Valentine’s Day weekend. The team played the Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) Lutes two weekends in a row, with games on Feb. 21, Feb. 28 and March 1, the latter of which were the first games of the Northwest Conference.
Among practices and games, the team has committed itself to charitable causes. The team has a goal to raise $5,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (now Blood Cancer United) over the duration of the 2026 season. The fundraiser is based on a per-strikeout basis thrown by LC pitchers, where participants can pledge donations ranging from $0.25 to $5 per strikeout. Flat donations are also accepted. As of Feb. 24, the team has raised $730, achieving 44 strikeouts in 6 games, which is updated on Instagram periodically.
Evyn Lewis ’27 and Eli Steinhaus ’27 shared their predictions the day before the Feb. 21 game.
“We play PLU this weekend in a non-conference matchup in a two game series, so that’ll be a good way to see what they have to offer this year. They beat us three out of four games last year, so I can say that they’re probably considered a rival for us,” Lewis said.
LC and PLU started off their conference seasons last year on March 1-2, 2025 at the PLU field, where PLU took the first, third and fourth games, scoring 8-6, 10-7 and 10-7, respectively. LC won the second game at 15-10.
Steinhaus discussed the team’s prior performance against PLU.
“PLU is a pretty fun conference opponent to play,” Steinhaus said. “We struggled against them last year, we had some leads in latent games where we should have won, and we kind of blew the game. So it’ll be interesting to see, you know, if we can jump out on them early this year and keep some leads.”
The first game, on home turf at LC’s Jerry Gatto Field, ended in a loss for LC. The River Otters scored five runs against PLU’s 18, with nine of PLU’s runs occurring during the sixth inning, bringing the score to 17-3. LC added two more runs during the seventh and ninth innings, but the deficit was too great to overcome.
Joaquin Sandoval ’26 hit two doubles in the first game and two of the five runs batted in — at-bats that allow another player to score — showing off impressive statistics for the first game.
Despite this loss, the second game of the day began as a defensive stalemate, with only one run, scored by LC, across both teams being scored in the first four innings. In the second half of the game, PLU gradually took the lead, ending the game with a 7-4 win.
On Feb. 24, after the first weekend against PLU, Sandoval reflected on the game and the upcoming season.
“I think that we are just kind of getting our feet under us. It’s still early in the season and we have so much talent and such a high potential, and it’s just a matter of making it all work when the game comes around, so we’re working on practicing harder and being better so that we can meet PLU this weekend again and be even better, because we definitely are a lot better than those scores represent and we’re excited to get back out there and show that,” Sandoval said.
Lewis noted how some injuries on the team could have contributed to the outcome of the first series.
“We got a lot of guys injured right now, both on the offensive and pitching side of things, so it’s going to be interesting to see, one, what the timeline on those guys are on, and two, how we stack up once we are fully healthy because I think that we have one of the best teams in the conference when we’re fully healthy,” Lewis said.
Steinhaus also expressed hope for the team’s success after players heal.
“I feel pretty optimistic right now. Like Evyn said, we have some injuries on our team right now, especially to our pitching staff. But I think if we can get those guys healthy, by the time that conference play starts, I think we’ll have a really good shot to win a lot of games and go pretty deep into the season,” Steinhaus said.
Lewis is hoping to make the conference tournament and the playoffs.
“Personally, I’m just trying to find a way to contribute the most to the team as I can find a way to win games. We haven’t made the conference tournament since I’ve been here despite winning the conference tournament championship the year before I got here, so I would love to get a spot in the playoffs,” Lewis said.
Steinhaus expressed excitement to enter the season with a clearer mind.
“Last year I was a full-time starter, and I had a really rough year, so I think being able to flush that and bounce back this year and contributing to the team will be big for me. I think my mental focus and all that is in a much better spot this year than it was last year,” Steinhaus said.
Sandoval affirmed his own excitement, adding that playing the team twice in a row uniquely allows the coaches and players to analyze the most up-to-date playing styles.
“We’re excited, I think it’s nice honestly to have a little bit of a glimpse at their pitchers like we did this past weekend. It’s kind of nice to be able to visualize that and have those images of those pitchers and their arm slots and whatnot all throughout the week so that we can be prepared for this weekend when we see them for a second time. Again, I don’t think we played up to our potential whatsoever, so I think we’re going to surprise them,” Sandoval added.
Sandoval concluded by emphasizing the value of team bonds, a view also shared by Lewis and Steinhaus.
“I always say that there’s no friends like teammates. I think that there’s a really strong brotherhood. There’s a strong connection with people that you’ve kind of had to struggle through practices and weightlifting and training with,” Sandoval said. “I think that applies to every team on campus, whether that be formal, like varsity athletics or even club sports. I think a teammate is such a good friend.”
The second weekend, which was the first conference series of the spring, included three games. Saturday included two games, the first of which was a 3-8 loss to LC and the second of which was a narrow win at 7-6. The third and final game occurred on Sunday, in which LC took a bigger lead, winning 11-7.
LC Baseball is traveling for the second time to California to play Chapman University on March 7 and 8, and their next Conference series is the following weekend against Whitworth University, where they will travel to Spokane, Washington.
About the Author
