McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Home runs by
Scott Hilpert and
Alex Hendra-Brown, combined with six strong innings of relief pitching from
Cal Neely, powered the Linfield Wildcats to a 6-2 victory over the Willamette Bearcats in the Northwest Conference opener for both clubs Friday night at Roy Helser Field.
The Bearcats loaded the bases in the first inning, touching up Wildcats starter
David Brosius, who was making his home debut. Willamette notched the game's first run on a single to right field by Eric Del Prago that sent Connor Bailey home from third base.
Hilpert put Linfield in front 2-1 with his second home run of the season in the bottom of the inning. The two-run shot scored
Brady Rediger, who reached base on a walk issued by WU starter Brandon Nelson.
After
Jake Gellos drew another walk from in the second, Hendra-Brown smacked a lofting home run over the left-center field wall, pushing Linfield's advantage to 4-1.
The Bearcats made it 4-2 on a solo home run from Joseph Faudskar in the fourth, but
Kekoa Kaulukukui added to the Linfield total in the bottom of the frame, scoring on a ground out RBI by
Joey Cassano.
Linfield extended its lead back to four runs in the fifth when
Ryan Pladson was pegged by a Nelson pitch and
Ryan Ross followed that up with a run-scoring double to right field.
Pitching six solid innings of relief, Neely (1-0) picked up the win, his first of the season. He allowed one hit, that by way of a single from Faudskar with two outs in the ninth. Brosius, a left-handed transfer from Oregon State, threw the initial three innings, striking out four Bearcats but walking five and allowing four hits. Nelson (0-3) absorbed the loss for Willamette, which evened its record at 4-4.
Hilpert and Rediger each had a pair of hits, part of a nine-hit effort by the Wildcats.
Faudskar went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored for Willamette.
AHEAD: The teams return to Roy Helser Field for a doubleheader Saturday starting at noon. Live video coverage on the Linfield Sports Network starts at approximately 11:50 a.m.
