HILLSBORO, Ore. – Very few Division III pitchers, if any, are having as good of a spring as Linfield ace Tayah Kelley.
 
Kelley was named the Northwest Conference Softball Pitcher Student-Athlete of the Week for the fourth straight week on Monday after picking up three more wins in the circle.
 
The junior from Myrtle Creek, Oregon, tossed three complete games in wins over Willamette and George Fox. She allowed the Bearcats one run on four hits while striking out 10 in a tight 2-1 win on Wednesday. She allowed one earned run on three hits with 11 strikeouts in each of her outings against the Bruins.
 
Kelley has been a wrecking ball in the NWC. She is 12-0 on the season with four shutouts and a save in 82 innings of work. She leads the NWC with a 0.77 ERA and 120 strikeouts. Of her 327 batters faced, Kelley has held opponents to a .153 batting average and just 13 extra-base hits.
 
Winners of eight of their last nine games, the Wildcats (19-3, 11-1 NWC) sit atop the NWC rankings. They will play a doubleheader at Lewis & Clark on Tuesday before returning home on Saturday for a non-conference doubleheader against the SCIAC's La Verne.