TACOMA, Wash. – Cason Cunningham whirled a 15-strikeout complete game as Linfield took the series opener, but Puget Sound's pitching staff shut down the Wildcats for eight innings to pull even in Game 2 as the clubs split a Northwest Conference doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Logger Field.
 
Cunningham was masterful in Game 1, recording 1-2-3 innings in the third through sixth frames and yielding just five hits and two walks against a career-high 15 strikeouts. The performance nearly matched the single-game program record of 16, set by Tim Roupp in 1999, and is the most by any NWC pitcher this year.
 
Linfield improved to 8-7 overall and maintained sole possession of third place in the early team standings at 6-5 in league play. Puget Sound slipped to 6-9 overall and 2-4 against conference opponents.
 
GAME 1: Linfield 7, Puget Sound 2
Scoring a combined five runs on three home runs, the Wildcats put together big offensive innings in the fourth, fifth and ninth to jump out to an early lead in the series. Ryan Pladson, Ryan Ross and Ben Andrews all sent balls over the fence.
 
Pladson went 3-for-4 at the plate and both Andrews and Brady Rediger tallied two hits apiece.
 
Rediger delivered a two-out, bases-loaded single in the fourth inning to score Levi Horner-Villa and Jake Gellos and put Linfield in the driver's seat. Pladson followed up Cunningham's quick top half of the fifth with a bomb over the left-field fence, plating Andrews and recording his first round-tripper of 2017.
 
Cunningham successfully worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second, but the Loggers finally go to him in the eighth. Rica Barraza led off the inning with a solo home run, and Linfield's starter responded with three consecutive outs to prevent Puget Sound from mounting any sort of rally. 
 
Andrews and Ross homered as part of a three-run ninth that pushed Linfield's advantage to 7-1. Puget Sound's Mason Quinlan sent a two-out RBI double to center field in the bottom half of the inning for the final run of the game.
 
Cunningham's complete game was the first for any Wildcat this season, and the second of his collegiate career.
 
GAME 2: Puget Sound 2, Linfield 1
Despite outhitting the Loggers 7-4, the Wildcats could not manufacture enough offense to support another stellar pitching performance by Riley Newman. Alex Hendra-Brown was the only Linfield batter to tally more than one hit, and it took the visitors until the top half of the ninth to push a run across the plate.
 
Newman did his part to put the 'Cats in a position to win, recording five strikeouts and surrendering just four hits across eight innings. But Puget Sound starter Merle Rowan-Kennedy was equally as good in his seven-inning appearance, and benefitted from the Loggers' two-run opening frame.
 
James Dejesus and Mason Quinlan sandwiched a pair of singles around a walk, giving the Loggers a quick 1-0 advantage on the scoreboard. A fielding error loaded the bases, and Hunter Riley drew a walk to plate a second run before Linfield got out of the inning with two consecutive outs.
 
That proved to be enough offense for the Loggers. Rowan-Kennedy navigated a dangerous situation in the third, striking out Pladson with the bases loaded. Back-to-back singles from Andrews and Pladson gave the 'Cats a pair of baserunners in the sixth, but a double play and follow-up groundout denied Linfield an opportunity cash in.
 
The visitors finally generated a run in the ninth, when Horner-Villa singled, advanced on a failed pickoff and scored on Hendra-Brown's outfield single. Daniel Zavala singled through the right side to put the tying run on second, but Puget Sound ended the threat with a game-ending double play.
 
For the game, Linfield left eight runners stranded to Puget Sound's five.
 
NEXT: The decisive Game 3 is scheduled for Monday at 11 a.m. at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue.