McMINNVILLE, Ore. –
Brynn Nelson hit a pair of game-winning home runs, and
Tayah Kelley recorded a pitching win and a save, leading the seventh-ranked Linfield Wildcats past Yamhill County rival George Fox. Both Northwest Conference contests ended with Linfield on top by a 4-3 count.
Linfield (25-3, 15-1 NWC), which has now won six straight, took three of four games from George Fox during the rescheduled four-game series. George Fox (16-12, 9-7 NWC) saw its three-game win streak halted.
GAME 1: Linfield 4, George Fox 3, 8 innings
Nelson's home run blast in the bottom of the eighth inning capped an exciting back-and-forth contest that saw brilliant pitching and clutch hitting by both clubs.
Linfield outhit George Fox 8-4 and the Bruins committed three errors, yet it was Linfield that had to battle from behind to force extra innings, then get a two-out home run by Nelson, her third of the season.
Two Bruins fielding miscues led to the first runs of the game. After
Baily Paul singled to left field to begin the Linfield third inning,
Katie Phillips' lofting ball to center field was mishandled by second baseman Kamryn Potter, enabling Paul to score all the way from first base. Moments later,
Claire Seats singled to right field, but outfielder Claire Fountain's throw to third sailed high, allowing Phillips to score.
In the top of the fourth, Emma Clausen pulled the Bruins back to within one run, smacking her first home run of the season over the right-field wall.
In the fifth, Potter sent a double to left field, driving home Brooke Riggins and Fountain for a 3-2 Bruins advantage. Linfield nearly wrestled the lead back in the bottom of the frame, but Phillips' deep shot to left field that could have put Linfield in front was nabbed at the wall by Kimberly Pulido.
In the bottom of the seventh,
Ashlyn Aven singled and
Baily Paul doubled to position runners at second and third.
Kaili Saathoff then delivered a ground-out RBI, knotting the score at 3.
That set up Nelson's heroic, game-winning hit.
Kelley struck out 10 batters on the way to recording her 16th pitching win of the season against no losses.
Bruins pitcher Ashley Davis was saddled with the loss, falling to 6-5. She scattered eight hits, walked one Wildcat and struck out three.
Potter went 2 for 4 and drove in a pair of runs to lead the Bruins at the plate.
Paul, Saathoff and Nelson all accounted for two hits for the 'Cats.
GAME 2: Linfield 4, George Fox 3
Nelson again provided the game-clinching fireworks, delivering a third-inning home run to break a 3-all tie. Like the opening game, the Wildcats had to battle from behind to claim the victory.
George Fox jumped to a 2-0 first-inning lead as Kamryn Potter led off the game with a double and Sharon Tomei cleared the bases with a home run over the left-field wall.
The Bruins stretched their lead to 3-0 following a RBI triple from Aliya Harmon that scored Classen from first base.
Seats tied it up with a three-run homer in the bottom of the third, her sixth round-tripper of the season and third in the Wildcats' last four games. On the ensuing at-bat, Nelson then blasted her second homer of the day, giving the Wildcats their first lead of the contest, 4-3.
George Fox came close to tying the game with two outs in the fourth, but was tagged out at home plate by catcher
Ashley Sutton. In the fifth, the Bruins were again in position to score with runners at first and second with two outs, but Sutton caught Jailynn Lozano attempting to steal third base.
Seats finished 3 for 3 at the plate.
Cydney Hess wen 2 for 3 and snagged a couple of inning-ending line drives to hold the Bruins at bay.
Tyler Warden (9-1) earned the win with a five-inning start. She allowed seven hits and three walks before turning the game over to Kelley to begin the sixth. Kelley pocketed her second save of 2023, holding the Bruins hitless over the final two frames.
Potter, Tomei and Reagan Medina each came away with two hits for the Bruins to highlight a seven-hit output.
NEXT
The Wildcats hit the road for a four-game NWC series at Puget Sound. The series begins with two games beginning Friday at noon followed by a Saturday doubleheader, also at noon.
