TACOMA, Washington – The Puget Sound baseball team returns to Logger field to Linfield for a three-game Northwest Conference series, March 4-5. Saturday's doubleheader starts at 11 a.m., and Sunday's game starts at noon. Puget Sound is 6-2 in its last eight NWC games against Linfield.
 
Wintry weather
Last week's series at Lewis & Clark was postponed due to wintry weather in Portland. Teams will play a doubleheader at Lewis & Clark, March 15, and then finish the series with a single game in Portland, April 5.
 
Rewarding rotation
Sophomore starting pitchers Brett Harvey and Davis Franklin have been exceptional through their first three starts of the season. Harvey carries a 3.06 ERA through 17.2 innings, and Franklin has a 3.32 ERA to go with 22 strikeouts through 19.0 innings. Dylan Joyce has made three appearances (two starts) on the mound, and he holds a 4.05 ERA. As a team, the Loggers have the best ERA in the NWC (4.08).
 
Brink of history
Dylan Joyce is tied with Mark Rockey for the most home runs (29) in school history. He also has 103 RBI for his career – Olin Wick holds the record with 131. On the mound, Joyce is Puget Sound's all-time leader in saves (12), and he hold a 2.88 career ERA.
 
Bloch party
Nathan Blocher belted his second home run of the season against Whitman this past Sunday (Feb. 19). The junior is hitting .379 with four stolen bases and seven runs batted it. His career began with a grand-slam in his first-ever collegiate at bat.
 
Return of the Mak
Makana Murashige is hitting .488 so far this season, which ranks third in the NWC. His seven steals so far also rank third. Murashige and Dylan Joyce are tied for the team lead in RBI (16).
 
Scouting Linfield (4-5, 2-1 NWC)
The Wildcats began their conference schedule with a series win against George Fox (Feb. 18-19). The Wildcats have the worst ERA in the NWC (8.06). Offensively, their five steals also rank last in the conference, but the team's .297 batting average is in the middle of the pack. Jake Hoskins is the team's leading hitter (.421). He and Nick Holm have a couple of home runs this season. Despite the team's poor ERA, Casey Struckmeier has a 2.00 ERA in three appearances (one start, 9.0 IP).