TACOMA, Wash. – Linfield finished its 28-game Northwest Conference regular-season slate with just a single league loss, equaling the best conference mark in program history.
A sweep of the Puget Sound Loggers Tuesday at Logger Field matched the 27-1 mark recorded by Linfield's 2010 and 2011 clubs.
With
Tayah Kelley leading her team through a rescheduled doubleheader on a blustery afternoon, the senior pitching ace recorded two wins, the first as the Game 1 starter and the second as a reliever in Game 2.
Brynn Nelson accounted for five hits in the doubleheader to lead the Wildcats at the plate.
GAME 1: Linfield 6, Puget Sound 2 (completion of suspended game)
Kelley struck out 12 batters while holding the Loggers to three hits and a pair of walks. With the complete-game effort, the righthander improved her season record to 23-0.
Claire Seats hit her team-leading seventh home run of the season, going 2 for 4 at the plate.
Ashley Sutton upped her season home run total to five.
Hailee Ueyama went 2 for 3 and contributed both of Puget Sound's runs, including a first-inning home run that gave the Loggers a measure of hope at the start.
The Wildcats plated at least one run in all but the first and fifth innings. They outscored the Loggers 2-0 when play resumed in the fifth inning on Tuesday.
GAME 2: Linfield 14, Puget Sound 3
An 11-run explosion in the seventh inning carried the Wildcats to the program record-tying victory.
With the game tied 3-3 heading to the bottom of the sixth inning, the Loggers were in position for a season-defining upset, but Kelley came on in relief of Wildcats starter
Tyler Warden in the sixth inning, striking out the side to keep the score knotted.
Linfield batted up and down the lineup in the top of the seventh. After the 'Cats loaded the the bases with no outs,
Cydney Hess then tapped a ground-out RBI, scoring
Kaili Saathoff from third base. Nelson made it 5-3 in favor of the Wildcats, lacing a single to right field that scored
Katie Phillips.
Ashley Sutton followed with a two-run double to the left-field wall, giving Linfield a four-run cushion. From there,
Baily Paul, Saathoff, Phillips, Seats and Nelson all took turns driving in runs as the Linfield ballooned to 14-3.
Kelley (24-0) picked up her second victory of the day, striking out five of the six batters she faced.
Paul and Phillips both drove home three runs. Saathoff scored three times. Nelson totaled a game-high four hits, including a double.
Savannah Smith, the UPS starter, took the loss to fall to 7-9. Smith and J Moore each had two hits for UPS.
NEXT
Linfield returns to Del Smith Stadium where the Wildcats are preparing to host the Northwest Conference Tournament. The three-day, double-elimination tournament gets started Friday with top-seeded Linfield taking on fourth-seeded Whitworth at 3 p.m. In the other first-round game Pacific Lutheran opposes George Fox at 5:30.
