McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Holding Whitman to two hits across 18 innings, the Linfield Wildcats clinched a berth in the upcoming Northwest Conference Tournament with a sweep of the Blues Saturday afternoon at Roy Helser Field.
The Wildcats (21-14, 15-8 NWC) got three hits from
Cameron Fox to win the opener 6-3 then blanked the Blues 10-0 behind a superb pitching performance by
Cal Neely in the nightcap.
GAME 1: Linfield 6, Whitman 3
Linfield took to an early lead after
Jake Gellos grounded into a fielder's choice and brought home
Joey Cassano in the process to make it 1-0 in the first.
An inning later,
Levi Horner-Villa crushed a solo home run over the wall in left for at 2-0 Linfield advantage.
The Blues got on the board in the fourth on a wild pitch. On a bang-bang play at the plate, Brett Williams narrowly dodged a tag from pitcher
Cason Cunningham, who was covering home plate.
With the bases loaded in the same inning, Anthony Lim was hit by a pitch to bring home Alex Behrman.
In the bottom of the frame,
Ryan Ross singled to left and scored Cassano for a second time to enable Linfield to retake the lead, 3-2. Fox added another run on a single through the left side that scored
Brady Rediger.
Linfield went on to add two more runs on a wild pitch and a Fox double that scored Gellos.
Whitman would threaten in the ninth but would only plate one run to draw a the final score at 6-3.
Linfield in the box
Linfield outhit Whitman 13-1. The 'Cats were led by Fox who went 3 for 5 with two RBI and a double. Gellos picked up an RBI, scored a run and walked three times. Ross and Horner-Villa both totaled an RBI.
Joey Cassano went 2 for 4 with two runs scored and a walk.
Wildcat arms
Cunningham had a rough outing, lasting 3.2 innings. He struck out five but walked seven. Winning pitcher
Dylan Peters (2-1) was rock solid in relief. He earned the win after throwing the final 5.1 innings, allowing one run, no hits and one walk.
Blues at the plate
Whitman managed one hit. Lim slapped a single through the four-hole on a hit-and-run play in the third. Behrman scored twice and Kyle Reisman scored one run.
Whitman on the mound
Blues starter Tristian Kalnain (2-3) threw 3.2 innings of nine-hit ball. He surrendered four earned runs, walked three and stuck out four. Collin Anderson, Aidan Miller and Charlie Carmichael combined to throw the final 4.1 innings.
GAME 2: Linfield 10, Whitman 0
Blasting out of the gates with a seven-run first inning, Linfield seemingly put the game on ice after just one frame. The first seven Wildcat hitters reached base on a hit and Linfield totaled eight hits in the opening inning.
Gellos and Ross added to the touchdown lead in the second and fourth innings with solo homers to left field despite windy conditions to make it 9-0. Gellos hit his fourth homer of the season while Ross smacked his seventh.
Neely was nearly perfect in his 11th outing of 2018. He allowed just one hit in seven innings and struck out four.
A Ross sacrifice fly would cap the scoring after
Alec Cook made his way to home from third.
Wildcat leaders
The Wildcats outhit the Blues 14-1 in Game 2. Cassano paced the Wildcat offense with a 3 for 5 day. He scored once and had an RBI. Ross went 2 for 3 with three RBI and two runs scored. Gellos also went 2 for 3 with two runs scored and two RBI. Horner-Villa tagged on two RBI as the designated hitter.
Linfield on the mound
Neely (4-5) was on his A-game as he allowed just one hit over seven innings. He struck out four and walked two.
Daniel Zavala appeared in relief and dominated over the final two frames. He struck out three and didn't allow a base runner in the eighth and ninth.
Blues hitters
Lim generated the only hit for the Blues. He went 1 for 3.
Whitman pitching staff
Starter Brendan Henry (4-2) tossed 1/3 of an inning and was tagged with the loss. He allowed the first six runs on six hits. John Lyon threw the next five innings and gave up four runs on seven hits. Tristan Perrin threw 2/3 of an inning and departed after being pegged by a line drive. Braden Hussey finished the final two innings.
Next
Linfield goes for the series sweep Sunday at noon at Roy Helser Field. Linfield plans to honor its 12 graduating seniors with special Senior Day celebration beginning at 11:45 a.m. Festivities continue after the game on the field with a postgame barbeque, weather permitting.
