MARSHALL, Texas – Friday the 13th was anything but unlucky for the Linfield Wildcats, who twice fought off elimination at the NCAA Division III Marshall Regional.
Linfield knocked off Fontbonne with a come-from-behind 4-3 victory to begin the day, then avenged its opening-round loss to East Texas Baptist, eliminating the host Tigers from contention with a nail-biting 7-5 result.
Linfield improved to 38-8 and advances to play Belhaven (40-6) Saturday at noon CDT (10 a.m. PDT). The Wildcats must defeat the Blazers twice in order to claim the regional championship.
East Texas Baptist ended its season with a record of 33-13.
GAME 2: Linfield 7, East Texas Baptist 5
Linfield broke the game open in the fourth inning, turning a 3-2 lead into a 7-2 advantage. The 'Cats loaded the bases with one out before
Baily Paul tapped a single to score a run,
Claire Seats ripped a double to deep left field to score two more, and
Brynn Nelson tapped a chopper over the glove of the third baseman.
ETBU trimmed the lead to 7-4 with a pair of two-out RBI singles by Lorena Ramirez and Amber Thibodeaux. In the seventh, Wildcats starter
Tayah Kelley issued a bases-loaded walk to allow the Tigers to within two runs, but that is as close as ETBU would come.
Seats, Nelson and
Katie Phillips each had two hits in the game.
Abi Proffitt smacked her second home run of the day in the second inning, a two-run blast to center field that gave the Wildcats a lead they would not relinquish.
Kelley picked up her second win of the day to improve to 25-4. The Northwest Conference Pitcher of the Year allowed nine hits and four walks while logging three strikeouts.
GAME 1: Linfield 4, Fontbonne 3
Clutch hitting by three Linfield freshmen helped the Wildcats stave off elimination with yet another late-inning rally.
After falling into a 3-1 deficit and with potentially just six outs remaining in its season, Linfield stormed back to take down Fontbonne. The Wildcats registered six of their eight hits during the final two innings.
Newcomer
Jacey Leyvas singled in the fifth inning, sending pinch runner
Tiani Wayton home and pulling the Wildcats to within one run, 3-2.
Everything went Linfield's way in the sixth inning.
Baily Paul singled to lead off the frame and
Katie Phillips followed with a single of her own to position base runners at first and third. That's when first-year Wildcat
Claire Seats delivered a sacrifice fly to center field, sending Paul sprinting for home and tying the game at 3. Fellow freshman
Brynn Nelson then stepped to the plate and drilled the game-winning hit, scoring Phillips from third base.
Linfield took early control of the game, thanks to a solo home run over the center-field wall by
Abi Proffitt in the third inning. Fontbonne later capitalized on three hits and three Wildcat fielding errors to assume a 3-1 advantage in the fifth, setting the stage for Linfield's late-game heroics.
Freshman
Hailey Wadsworth earned the start in the circle for the 'Cats. She struck out four Griffins and walked four others before being replaced by
Tayah Kelley midway through the fifth inning. Kelley collected the win in relief to improve to 24-4. She stuck out six of the nine batters she faced, allowing no hits and one walk.
Phillips went 2 for 2 at the plate, Nelson was 2 for 3 and Proffitt hit her fourth home run of the season. The Wildcats notched four stolen bases in the game, including two by Paul.
