THE RECORDS
After opening Northwest Conference play at home against Puget Sound, the Linfield baseball team will hit the road for a three-game series against Lewis & Clark at the Pioneers' Huston Sports Complex. Saturday's doubleheader will start at 11 a.m. while first pitch for Sunday's finale is scheduled for noon.
 
The Wildcats enter the series with a 3-6 overall record and a 1-2 NWC mark after winning one of three games against the Loggers last week. The Pioneers are 7-4 overall and 2-1 in NWC play after taking their series at Whitman last week.
 
LINFIELD AT A GLANCE
The Wildcats dropped both ends of their doubleheader against Puget Sound last week, losing 7-1 and 8-6. They came back on Sunday to take the series finale 8-7. The team is batting .241 with 38 RBI and is a perfect 7 for 7 on stolen base attempts.
 
Senior first baseman Branden Pasion leads the team with a .320 batting average, going 8 for 25 on the young season with four runs and three RBI. Senior shortstop Tanner Jacques is batting .306 with a .359 on-base percentage. He leads the 'Cats with 11 hits and has driven in six runs. Junior designated hitter Cameron Skinner has 10 hits, five RBI and two home runs on the year while sophomore second baseman Mike LaVigne has scored seven times.
 
Sophomore John Over went 4.2 innings against Puget Sound in his third start of the season. He allowed three runs, just one earned, on four hits while striking out six. Over leads the staff with 11 strikeouts while freshman Jackson Koons and junior Andrew Del Biaggio each have nine. Koons has allowed three earned runs in nine innings of work. Senior Sam Adams leads the team with a 2.25 ERA in four relief appearances while freshman Nick Alder owns a 2.45 ERA.
 
LEWIS & CLARK AT A GLANCE
Lewis & Clark scored a combined 48 runs in its NWC-opening series with Whitman. The Pioneers are batting .319 as a team with a .446 on-base percentage and 19 home runs.
 
Jack Thomson is batting .458 with a .544 on-base percentage and a .958 slugging percentage. He leads the team with 22 hits, 20 runs and 10 doubles while sharing the team lead with Luke Bass with 15 RBI. Thomson, Bass and Dylan Moore have four home runs to their names.
 
Luke Ritter is 2-0 on the season, allowing two earned runs on eight hits with eight strikeouts in 11 innings pitched. He owns a 1.64 ERA while Anthony Clerici hasn't allowed an earned run in 9.2 innings. Clerici has struck out 15 batters while Brett Pierson leads the Pioneers with 16 punchouts.
 
THE SERIES
Linfield and Lewis & Clark have met 193 times. The 'Cats have won 135 of those games. Linfield's longest winning streak against the Pioneers was 19 straight games between the 2009 and 2015 seasons. The 'Cats are 52-27 in Portland, but the Pios have won five straight matchups. The Pios won all four meetings in 2021, all of those games taking place at Roy Helser Field.
 
THE WILDCATS
TEAM STATISTICS
Runs Per Game: 4.8
Runs Allowed Per Game: 7.4
Batting Average: .241
ERA: 6.75
 
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Batting Average: Branden Pasion (.320)
Hits: Tanner Jacques (11)
Runs: Cameron Skinner (8)
RBI: Jackson Horner (8)
Doubles: Cameron Skinner (3)
Home Runs: Cameron Skinner (2)
ERA: Sam Adams (2.25)
Strikeouts: John Over (11)
 
THE PIONEERS
TEAM STATISTICS
Runs Per Game: 11.9
Runs Allowed Per Game: 7.2
Batting Average: .319
ERA: 6.30
 
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Batting Average: Jack Thomson (.458)
Hits: Jack Thomson (22)
Runs: Jack Thomson (20)
RBI: Luke Bass, Zack Kon, Jack Thomson (15)
Doubles: Jack Thomson (10)
Home Runs: Luke Bass, Dylan Moore, Jack Thomson (4)
ERA: Luke Ritter (1.64)
Strikeouts: Brett Pierson (16)