NEWBERG, Ore. – In an anticipated matchup of Northwest Conference regular-season co-champions, it was no contest.
 
The Linfield Wildcats outhit the George Fox Bruins 13-2 on the way to a 9-1 victory in six innings Sunday in the championship game of the NWC Tournament at Morse Athletic Complex. The victory clinched the NWC's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III regional playoffs.
 
Jacinda Swiger went 3 for 4 with a triple and scored twice, and Cheyenne Fletcher doubled and scored three times to lead a powerful Linfield offensive assault. Shelby Saylors struck out five Bruins on the way to her 20th pitching triumph of the season.
 
Linfield completed its run through the NWC Tournament with a perfect 3-0 record. Scoring 23 runs in wins over Whitworth, Pacific and George Fox, Linfield perhaps came looking for redemption after going scoreless in two NWC Tournament games at Spokane a year ago.
 
Linfield and George Fox, the NWC's two co-champions, had been on a collision course for the regional tournament bid since splitting their annual four-game series 2-2 and subsequently finishing in a deadlock for the regular-season championship.
 
The Wildcats plated runs in all but one inning, including grabbing a fast 2-0 lead in the first inning. With Linfield leading 4-1 in the fourth inning, the Bruins committed two costly errors that allowed the 'Cats to push home two more runs. Moments later, Emily Allen singled to center field, driving in Melanie Oord and Fletcher for a 6-1 Wildcats advantage.
 
Oord put the game on ice in the sixth, clubbing her eighth home run of the season over the left field wall.
 
Saylors limited the Bruins' damage to three walks, two hits and one hit-by-pitch.
 
GFU starter Abbie Bergerson (11-6) took the loss in the circle. She managed just one strikeout over the first four innings before turning the game over to reliever Melissa Charron.
 
Savannah Vargas accounted for George Fox's only hits.
 
Linfield (34-8) atoned for its 2017 ouster by George Fox at last season's NWC Tournament in Spokane. At 35-8 and ranked third in the NCAA's first regional rankings, the Bruins, remain very much in the running for an at-large NCAA regional berth. Linfield is rated fourth on the same regional rankings list.
 
Next
Linfield learns the location and first-round opponent for the upcoming regional playoffs on Monday, May 7, at 10 a.m. That's when the NCAA reveals the full 62-team field during its annual selection show on NCAA.com. There are 14 four-team regional sites and two three-team regional sites, all set for May 11-13 and using a double-elimination format. Sixteen teams advance from regionals to compete in a two-team, best-of-three tournament at eight super regional sites.