COLUMBUS, Ga. – Linfield piled up 27 runs during the opening games of the NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic Friday at South Commons Stadium.
 
Tayah Kelley was nearly unhittable in the day's first game, fanning 15 batters and leading the 20^th-ranked Wildcats to an 11-1 romp over regional rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.).
 
Later on Friday, Linfield swiped eight bases while racking up 13 hits on the way to a 16-8 runaway win over Manhattanville (N.Y.).
 
GAME 1: Linfield 11, Claremont-M-S 1
Kelley raised her season record to 5-1, pitching a two-hitter against the Athenas. She allowed just three walks in the seven-inning contest. CMS's only run of the game came by way of a home run in the sixth inning by pinch hitter Abby Thompson.
 
Freshman Claire Seats went 4 for 4 in the game, finishing with six RBI. Her afternoon included a grand slam in the seventh that put an exclamation mark on the Wildcats' decisive victory, their sixth consecutive over CMS.
 
Katrina Johns went 2 for 3 with a triple and scored three times. Abi Proffitt added two hits and scored a run to complement the Wildcats' 14-hit attack.
 
Athenas starter Heather Shipley (1-3) took the loss. She lasted 4 1/3 innings, giving up eight hits, five runs and three walks. Reliever Jade Johnson had similar troubles against the Linfield hitters, surrendering six hits and six runs over the final 2 2/3 innings. The two CMS pitchers managed just two strikeouts.
 
GAME 2: Linfield 16, Manhattanville 8
Katie Phillips and Kamryn Mobley each had three hits to power the Wildcats. Baily Paul drove in three runs and scored three times.
 
Linfield pitcher Tyler Warden collected the victory in a starting role. She scattered six hits and three walks over four innings of work. Dayla McAuliffe and Hailey Wadsworth closed out the game in the circle for the Wildcats.
 
Linfield plated eight runs in the first inning and added two more tallies in the second.
 
NEXT
Action at the Leadoff Classic continues Saturday with two more games scheduled. The Wildcats face Coe (Iowa) at 2:30 p.m. EDT, before meeting Illinois Wesleyan at 1:30 p.m. EDT.
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