TACOMA, Wash. –
Chelsea Horita hit three home runs Sunday afternoon at Logger Field and the Linfield Wildcats pounded the Puget Sound Loggers into submission, 11-2 and 9-3, completing a four-game sweep of their Northwest Conference counterparts.
Horita blasted two grand slam home runs – one in each game – giving her an eye-popping 12 RBI for the weekend.
Linfield improved to 4-0 in the NWC and 6-3 overall. Puget Sound slipped to 0-4 in the conference, 2-11-1 overall.
GAME 1: Linfield 11, Puget Sound 2
Home runs by
Cheyenne Fletcher and
Chelsea Horita, plus five strikeouts by pitcher
Shelby Saylors, carried the Wildcats past the Loggers in the opener.
Saylors scattered seven hits and a couple of walks to collect her third pitching win of the season.
A rocky first inning defensively put the Loggers in a 5-0 deficit from the start. The Wildcats reeled off three straight singles to start the game, scored on a walk to the next batter minutes later, then watched as Horita lofted a grand slam home run, her second of the weekend.
Erica Gott's RBI single in the bottom of the inning made it 5-1, before Fletcher drilled a two-run homer over the wall in the second inning.
By the end of the fourth, Linfield led 9-1 and appeared ready to end the game early by the eight-run rule. But the Loggers managed to plate one-run in the bottom of the fifth, eventually extending the game's conclusion until after full seven innings.
Jacinda Swiger and
Melanie Oord both picked up RBIs in the seventh as the Wildcats padded their lead.
Swiger finished the game 2 for 3 with three runs scored and a pair of stolen bases. Fletcher went 2 for 5 and scored twice while
Emily Allen was 2 for 3 to follow a 6-for-6 performance on Saturday.
Horita logged five RBIs in the contest. Linfield outhit Puget Sound 13-7.
Erica Gott was charged with the loss for Puget Sound to fall to 0-2. She pitched the entire game, striking out five and walking five.
GAME 2: Linfield 5, Puget Sound 2
Linfield struck for three runs in the second inning. Horita launched her first homer of the game to lead off the inning and
Darian Stedman soon followed with a RBI double that scored
Kelsey Wilkinson. A single by
Makenna Clizer pushed home Stedman and the Wildcats led 3-0.
Puget Sound countered with single runs in the third and fourth innings before Linfield erupted for six runs in the fifth, including Horita's second grand slam.
Stedman, Clizer, Fletcher, Swiger and Horita all came away with two hits in the game as Linfield piled up a dozen hits on Loggers starter Jessica Gott.
Eliza Rossman pitched the Wildcats to victory, fanning six Loggers and walking one. Rossman did allow eight hits, including two doubles, but the damage was mitigated by Linfield's potent offense.
Next
The Wildcats head to Tucson, Ariz., March 2-5 to compete in the NFCA Leadoff Classic. Linfield is set to take on a number of quality Division III opponents, including St. Thomas, Coe and Central (Iowa).
