CLAREMONT, Calif. – Tournament MVP Darian Stedman keyed matching victories Saturday over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Whittier, and the Linfield Wildcats completed a clean sweep of the NCAA Division III Claremont Regional at Athena Field.

The Wildcats (38-6-1) advance to next week's NCAA Super Regional at a to-be-determined campus location.
 
On Saturday, Linfield held off Claremont 5-2 before turning away upset-minded Whittier 8-4.
 
GAME 1: Linfield 5, Claremont-M-S 2
For the second straight season, CMS (31-13) saw its season come to an end at the hands of the Wildcats.
 
Linfield senior Tanna Benson earned her 15th pitching victory and Maddy Podnar backed her up with three innings of shutout softball.
 
Katie Phillips went 2 for 3 and scored twice, Makenna Clizer was 2 for 2 with a pair of RBI, and Darian Stedman added two more hits and a stolen base to lead the Linfield attack.
 
CMS's Maddie Valdez drilled a home run over the left-field wall with game not five minutes old, staking the Athenas to a fast 1-0 lead.
 
Linfield responded with three runs of its own in the third inning, beginning with Phillips' RBI double that scored Kelsey Wilkinson. Stedman followed shortly after with a lofting a single to right-center that pushed Phillips home. The Wildcats extended their lead to 3-1 on Clizer's single up the middle that plated Stedman.
 
CMS made it a one-run game in the fourth inning, advancing Natalie Dale to third base before Kawai Scanlan sacrificed her home, trimming the margin to 3-2.
 
Once more, the Wildcats answered the challenge, tallying a couple of insurance runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Pinch runner Alana Nuttman just barely beat the tag at home plate to make it 4-2 before Clizer gave the 'Cats a three-run advantage with a run-scoring single.
 
Benson scattered four hits, struck out three Athenas and walked one. She turned the game over to Podnar to start the fifth and the left-handed sophomore yielded just one hit the rest of the way.
 
GAME 2: Linfield 8, Whittier 4
Shelby Saylors earned the complete game victory, pitching her 22nd victory of the season on the way to clinching the regional championship.
 
Though Saylors yielded 10 hits and struck out just one Poet, the senior righty maintained her cool throughout the game against a team that had made successful comebacks its trademark in recent weeks.
 
Stedman went 3 for 4 with two doubles on her way to Claremont Regional MVP honors. The senior outfielder also stole a base.
 
Linfield drew first blood in the opening stanza, getting an RBI double from Stedman to send Phillips sprinting for home.
 
Clizer made it 3-0 with a two-run line drive in the bottom of the third inning.
 
In the Poets' fourth, Whittier put runners at second and third base with no outs. Jade Sanchez threaded a single through the infield and a sacrifice bunt by Hayley Wishner brought home another run. A ground-out by Jannelle Ha enabled Sanchez to score, knotting the score 3-3.
 
Paige Smotherman put Linfield back in front, 4-3, blasting her 12th home run of the season over the deepest portion of the outfield fence. Phillips then added a two-run single to give the Wildcats some breathing room.
 
Whittier wouldn't fold. Brianna McGee hit a rare inside-the-park home run, to keep the Poets within striking distance, 6-4. But the 'Cats would not be denied, adding a sacrifice bunt RBI by Chelsea Horita in the fifth and Stedman's run-scoring double to left field.

In addition to Stedman, Saylors and Clizer earned spots on the all-tournament team.
 
Next
The Wildcats return home Sunday and await word from the NCAA about their Super Regional opponent and game location.