SALEM, Ore. – A darkness delay, the threat of snow and a rematch of last year's Northwest Conference championship game made for an eventful the three-game series between the Willamette Bearcats and the Linfield Wildcats. After a 20-run drubbing by Linfield, 'Cats starter Cater Buuck stuffed the Bearcats order by tossing a one-hit, complete game shutout Sunday at Spec Keene Stadium.
Linfield improved to 7-4 for the season, 2-1 in the Northwest Conference. Willamette moved to 5-6 overall and 1-2 in the NWC.
GAME 2: Linfield 20, Willamette 1
Resuming play after a nearly 24-hour delay due to darkness at Spec Keene Stadium, Linfield and Willamette took to the field at noon. The Wildcats struck quickly on Saturday and took an early lead in the top of the first.
Daniel Zavala scored
Alec Cook on a sacrifice fly to right field. Scoreless over the next three innings, the 'Cats rode great defense and a tremendous start by
Cason Cunningham on the rubber. Linfield added to its lead in the fifth inning when
Alex Hendra-Brown launched a leadoff home run over the wall in right field. Later in the frame, Cook singled to left and brought in Jacob Dennis to give Linfield a 3-0 advantage.
The Wildcats added three more runs in the sixth to lead 6-0. Wild pitches and Bearcat errors helped the Wildcats continue the highest-scoring inning of the day. Willamette got on the board in the bottom of the frame when Del Prado doubled to score Joseph Faudskar from first. Zavala struck again in the eighth. He hit a two-run double down the right-field line to score
Brady Rediger and
Colton Robinson, dashing any hopes of a Bearcats comeback. Before the end of the inning, play was suspended due to darkness. The game resumed Sunday with two outs in the top of the eighth inning. A 12-run eighth inning secured the win for the Wildcats, 20-1.
Linfield leaders
The 'Cats hit 13-25 with runners on base and collected 19 hits. Every Wildcat that registered an at bat scored at least once. Hendra-Brown's homer in the fifth sparked a five-run stretch by the Wildcats over the fifth and sixth innings. Hendra-Brown brought in two RBIs on a pair of hits and scored a run. Zavala had two hits including a three-run homer in the eighth. He led the club with six RBIs and scored a two runs. Cook led the team with four hits (4-7) he also had four RBIs and scored twice. Dennis went 3-for-4 with two walks and Rediger reached base safely four times. Six Wildcats scored twice in the game.
Linfield scored 20 runs in a single game for the first time since March 20, 2010 (20-0, versus Whitman).
Wildcat staff
Cunningham (2-1) took to the mound and dominated in his third start of 2018. The junior threw five-plus innings of four-hit ball, allowing one run and striking out eight.
Taylor Boos was the first pitcher out of the Wildcat bullpen. Boos spun two scoreless innings where he struck out five of the nine batters he faced.
Matt Strang made his season debut after the delay. He threw two no-hit innings and struck out two batters over the final two frames.
Willamette bats
Five different Bearcats recorded hits. Eric Del Prado knocked in the only RBI of the game on a double to score Faudskar.
Bearcats arms
Six different pitchers threw for Willamette. Benjamin Whitten started for the Bearcats. He threw 4.2 innings where he allowed three runs on six hits and struck out one. Jason Snare entered in the middle of the fourth. Snare threw just one inning but did not complete the fifth. He gave up one run (unearned) and walked a batter. Nathan Gilman finished the fifth inning, giving up a pair of runs on two hits with three walks. After Gilman came Mason Cook, who struggled while giving up three runs on three hits and three walks. Austin Peters was rattled facing the Wildcat lineup and allowed five earned runs on six hits and a walk. Liam Keefe finished the game on Sunday. He threw 1.1 innings, allowing five hits and three runs.
GAME 3: Linfield 3, Willamette 0
Carter Buuck tossed a one-hit, complete-game shutout to give the Wildcats the series win at the start of conference play. The second leg of the 'Cats battery, catcher
Jake Gellos, supplied the third Linfield homer of the series and added to the Linfield lead in the later innings.
The scoring started in the first when
Daniel Zavala hit a sacrifice fly out to center that brought in Rediger from third. The score remained 1-0 until the sixth.
Buuck allowed one hit by Del Prado to lead off the fourth. It was the only Willamette hit of the game. Buuck tossed 117 pitches and used his defense well, forcing 12 ground ball outs and eight fly ball outs.
Linfield at the plate
The Wildcats collected 11 hits in the game and totaled 44 in the series. Gellos' two-run home run was his first of 2018. He went 2-for-3 and scored a run. Zavala continued to drive in runs for the 'Cats. His first inning RBI gave Linfield an early 1-0 advantage.
Ryan Ross and
Jake Dennis joined Gellos with two hits each.
Wildcats on the mound
Buuck started on the hill for the 'Cats. The senior lefthander tossed the first complete game of his Wildcat career. Buuck struck out six batters and allowed one hit to earn a complete game shutout that clinched the series, 2-1 for Linfield.
Willamette hitters
Del Prado recorded the only hit for the Bearcats in the fourth inning.
Bearcats pitching staff
Willamette starter Brandon Nelson was effective against the red-hot Linfield lineup. Nelson gave up an early run but then kept the 'Cats off the board until Gellos' two-run homer in the sixth. Harbour Harrison entered after Nelson. He allowed one hit in 1.1 innings. Jett Gallagher threw the final 1.2 innings where he gave up one Linfield hit.
Next
Linfield returns home to Roy Helser Field Saturday to start a three-game NWC series with the George Fox Bruins. Doubleheader action begins Saturday at noon in McMinnville, followed by a single contest Sunday, also at noon.
