McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Friday was a day for celebrating streaks by the Linfield softball program at Del Smith Stadium.
Notching a pair of lopsided wins on its home field, Linfield secured the program's 17th Northwest Conference championship. The twin victories also assured Linfield of its 18th straight season of 30 wins or more. And the Wildcats now boast a daunting streak of 25 consecutive winning seasons.
Linfield (31-7, 23-3 NWC) blanked Pacific 8-0 in six innings to begin the two-game set, then held the Boxers (9-17, 10-26 NWC) to a single run in an 18-1 five-inning whitewash in the nightcap.
Prior to the game, the Wildcats celebrated the careers of Linfield's six seniors:
Katie Phillips,
Abi Proffitt,
Katrina Johns,
Baily Paul,
Serrina Cabral and
Cheyenne Datan.
Played under sunny skies, the Wildcats' final regular-season home games drew a number of past Linfield softball greats to Del Smith Stadium, including Liz Coburn, Nikki Lelack, Megan Muth, Tonya Peters and Staci Doucette.
GAME 1: Linfield 8, Pacific 0, 6 innings
Tayah Kelley pitched a one-hitter, holding the Boxers off balance throughout the game. The junior righthander improved to 19-3 in the circle. She fanned 10 batters, becoming just the second pitcher in Linfield history to reach the 200 strikeout plateau.
Katrina Johns,
Katie Phillips,
Abi Proffitt and
Claire Seats all had two hits, part of a 12-hit assault by the Wildcats on Pacific pitchers Carly Bursch and Lindsey Greenfield.
Leading 4-0 entering the sixth inning, the Wildcats rung up four more runs to put the game on ice.
Claire Seats zipped a single to center field for the game's final run, ending the game by virtue of the eight-run rule.
GAME 2: Linfield 18, Pacific 1, 5 innings
Johns went 3 for 4 with a double and four RBIs,
Jacey Leyvas drove in three runs, and
Kamryn Mobley scored four times. Linfield's season-high 18 runs marked the highest scoring output against a NWC team since 2013.
The Wildcats wasted little time in taking command of Game 2. Seats single to left field scored a pair of runs in the first inning, then added a third run for good measure with the help of a wild pitch.
Baily Paul made it 4-0 with a RBI single in the second inning. Leyvas and Johns both logged RBIs in the third, pushing the Wildcats in front 6-0.
Pacific scored its only run of the day, netting an unearned run when Bella Portillo drew a bases-loaded walk.
Things really unraveled for the Boxers in the fourth inning as they watched the Wildcats push 12 runs across home plate. Leyvas singled to drive in two runs, Johns added a two-run single of her own, and Paul, Phillips and Mobley also contributed RBIs in the inning.
The Boxers were their own worst enemy, piling up five fielding errors to aid the Wildcats' cause.
Hailey Wadsworth limited Pacific to three hits over the first four frames before giving way to Pacific transfer
Cheyenne Datan, who closed the game out. Datan allowed two hits against her former team, getting a strikeout to end the game.
NEXT
The four-game series shifts to Forest Grove for the final two contests. First pitch is set for noon at Sherman/Larkins Stadium.
