SPOKANE, Wash. – On getaway day at Merkel Field, the Linfield Wildcats and the Whitworth Pirates split the Northwest Conference doubleheader. Wildcat won game one, 8-6 and Pirates took the nightcap, 5-3.
 
Wildcats snapped their six-game losing skid and are now 4-14 overall and 2-8 in the conference. Pirates are 5-10 overall and 3-5 in NWC.
 
GAME 1: Linfield 8, Whitworth 6
Jackson Horner opened the scoring on Sunday with a two-run single in the second that scored Wyatt Smith and Tanner Jacques. Reid Sturn added another run for the 'Cats in the second on a sacrifice fly that scored Ryan Kamp.
 
Pirates with a pair of two-run home runs took the lead in the third. The first two-run home run came off the bat of Aidan Morrison in the second. Pirates took the lead on a two-run shot by Jaxsen Sweum in the third. Jarred Yara scored on the home run by Morrison and Sweum's home run scored Luke Bruno.
 
Wildcats retook the lead in the fifth on two RBIs by the two Tanners, Earhart and Jacques. Tanner Earhart tied the game on a fielder's choice that scored Sturn and Tanner Jacques hit a sacrifice fly that scored Garrett Moen.
 
Jacob Doughty tied the game with an RBI base hit that drove in Gage Gibson. Wildcats answered with Mike LaVigne bringing home Sturn on an RBI single.
 
Earhart added his second RBI of the game by bringing in Lavigne in the seventh. Kamp drove in the eighth run of the game for the Wildcats on an RBI single that scored Jacques. Joe Howell hit an RBI single for Whitworth in the bottom of the eighth, scoring Tim Gee.
 
Moen, Kamp and Horner all had multi-hit games. Earhart and Horner had two RBIs each. Jacques and Sturn drew two walks each.
 
Relief pitcher Skyler Manelski picked up his first career win, tossing two innings and allowing one earned run. Sam Adams pitched the final 1.1 innings of the game and got the save, he allowed one walk and no hits.
 
Grant Knox started for Linfield, he gave up five earned runs in 5.2 innings. He had two strikeouts and two walks. Boe Hesse was the starter for the Pirates, he tossed four innings and gave up four earned runs.
 
Dylan Owen got the loss for the Pirates, he gave up an earned run in three innings pitched.
 
GAME 2: Whitworth 5, Linfield 3
Sturn stayed hot the plate and led off game two with a single. He came around to score on a triple by Levi Horner-Villa. The Pirates answered in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly by Grayson O'Neill that scored Dawson Warner.
 
Howell scored in the third on an RBI single by Sweum. Bruno and O'Neill scored on a fielding error by Linfield as Whitworth led 4-1 after three.
 
In the fifth, Kamp brought home Earhart and Wyatt Smith to make it 4-3, but the Pirates got an important insurance run in the bottom of the fifth, scoring on the play was Sweum.
 
Sturn, Earhart and Horner-Villa had two hits each. Sturn also stole a base. Kamp had two of three RBIs.
 
Wildcats went with a bullpen game, using five pitchers in the seven-inning game. Michael Schutz was the starter, he pitched an inning and gave up an earned run. Evan Bates threw two innings, giving up three runs, but only was earned. Bates was the losing pitcher.
 
Cameron Skinner tossed a perfect sixth, picking up two strikeouts. Gavin Ludlow threw 1.2 innings, giving up a run and Jarrett Allen came in to get the final out of the fifth.
 
The winning pitcher was Landon Shigeta, who gave up three earned runs in 4.2 innings. Evan Norden pitched the last 2.1 innings to get the save, he gave up just one hit.
 
UP NEXT
Linfield welcomes NWC leading Whitman to Roy Helser Field for four games next week. First pitch is scheduled for 12 noon on Friday and Saturday.