McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Willamette had Linfield's back against the wall the entire game, but the Wildcats scored five runs in the ninth inning to walk it off on the second-place Bearcats Friday at Roy Helser Field.
The Bearcats scored a run in the first inning and added four more in the third to take an early five-run lead. The Wildcats got a run back in the bottom half of the third on a
Tyler Marr RBI double down the left-field line. They chipped away at the Willamette lead again in the seventh when
Jake Hoskins hit a solo home run. His six homers on the year are tied for the team lead with
Nick Holm.
The Willamette lead grew back to four as Drew Baskin homered to left-center to make it a 6-2 ballgame. But Linfield refused to go home without a fight, scoring five runs on six hits to win their first Northwest Conference game since March 18 at Whitman.
The ninth-inning rally started with back-to-back doubles from Hoskins and Marr to cut the deficit to three. Two batters later, Holm drove Marr in on a single to center. The Wildcats were down to their final strike later in the inning, but
Garret Ringer punched a two-run single to right-center with the bases loaded to tie the game at 6-6.
A hitless
Branden Pasion stepped up to the plate with the winning run on third in
Bodey Smith. The first baseman Pasion came up clutch when it mattered most, smacking an RBI single to deep left field to win the game for the Wildcats before being mobbed by his teammates in the infield.
Marr shined at the plate, going 4 for 5 with a pair of RBI doubles. Hoskins and Ringer notched three hits apiece while
Cameron Skinner and
Trent Wainfeld each tallied two hits.
All five of Linfield's runs in the ninth inning were against Willamette closer Brady Joyner, who entered the game with eight saves but couldn't close it out against the Wildcats. Joyner was replaced after just two-thirds of an inning by Pruitt Spritzer, who gave up the game-winning hit to Pasion.
John Over allowed five quick runs but settled in to finish the sixth inning.
Logan Travis and
Connor Nelson combined for two scoreless innings in relief, and
Brian Mannion picked up his first collegiate win to improve to 1-2 on the season.
NEXT
The Wildcats (11-23, 7-15 NWC) and Bearcats will wrap up the three-game series Saturday with first pitch set for noon. The doubleheader also marks Senior Day for the Linfield baseball program.
