McMINNVILLE, Ore. –
Tayah Kelley pitched a perfect game to improve to 25-0 in the circle and
Ashley Sutton blasted a walk-off home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, leading the Linfield Wildcats to a convincing 9-0 Northwest Conference Tournament victory over the Whitworth Pirates Friday afternoon at Del Smith Stadium.
The top-seeded Wildcats (38-3), who won the NWC's regular-season title, pushed their Division III-leading win streak to 19 games.
Whitworth (23-18), the tournament's No. 4 seed, fell into an elimination game Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against Pacific Lutheran, a 3-0 loser to George Fox in Friday's other opening contest.
Linfield squares off against George Fox Saturday at noon with the winner advancing to Sunday's championship game.
Whitworth pitcher Corrine Vasiloff and Linfield's Kelley waged a classic pitchers' duel for the first three innings.
Vasiloff looked sharp through the first three innings, yielding just a single hit. But in the fourth, the Wildcats settled in at the plate, reeling off six hits and scoring five runs.
Katie Phillips led off the fourth with a single and
Claire Seats followed with a single of her own. The Wildcats loaded the bases on a fielder's choice, setting up a two-run double by
Ashley Sutton.
Katrina Johns then drilled a double to the right-field wall, scoring
Brynn Nelson and pinch runner
Jordan Bennett.
Kaili Saathoff made it 5-0 with an RBI single to center field.
The scoring onslaught continued in the fifth inning. Seats led off with a single and
Cydney Hess drew a walk. Nelson then laced a single, driving home Seats. With two runners on, Sutton then stepped to the plate and delivered the game-ending home run.
Vasiloff (15-8) took the loss. She gave up 10 hits and three walks while recording two strikeouts.
Kelley allowed no hits and no walks in the five inning, run-rule shortened perfect game.
Sutton went 2 for 3, finishing with five RBI. Nelson and Seats also contributed a pair of hits, part of a 10-hit barrage issued by the home-standing Wildcats.
