McMINNVILLE, Ore. –
Ashley Sutton's bloop single to left field in the fifth inning drove home the winning run for the Linfield Wildcats, who knocked off the Bethel Royals 1-0 Saturday to win the best-of-three McMinnville Super Regional at Del Smith Stadium.
Wildcats pitching ace
Tayah Kelley turned in another masterful performance in the circle, holding the Royals to just two hits on the way to recording her 33rd win of the season. She struck out six batters and surrendered just a single walk.
Linfield, which edged Bethel by the identical 1-0 score on Friday, improved to 46-4 for the season.
Advancing to the NCAA Finals for the seventh time in program history. Linfield will face Coe College (Iowa) in the eight-team, double-elimination NCAA Championships at Marshall, Texas. The Wildcats and Kohawks will play Thursday, June 1 at 4 p.m. CDT (2 p.m. PDT).
Bethel, which saw its school-record 26-game winning streak snapped one day earlier at the hands of the Wildcats, concluded its season at 36-5.
The game was a continuation of Friday's pitching duel between Kelley and Bethel ace Kayla Simacek.
The game was decided in the fifth inning. Linfield's
Brynn Nelson drew a leadoff walk and was sacrificed to second base by
Cydney Hess. Sutton's game-winning single followed on a 1-1 pitch from Simacek, buying Nelson just enough time to race home and touch off a wild celebration by the nearly 300 fans in attendance.
Kelley held the Royals to just two hits, striking out six batters and surrendering just a single walk.
Nelson, Sutton and
Kaili Saathoff registered Linfield's three base hits.
Wildcats graduate student
Katie Phillips was named the Super Regionals' Most Outstanding Player while Kelley was awarded the Most Outstanding Pitcher award.
Mikaela Girard and Jordyn Rudolph accounted for Bethel's hits.
Simacek, the Division III career leader in strikeouts and innings pitched, entered the Super Regionals with a Division III-best 34 wins. She struck out five batters and walked two, falling to 34-5 in her final game in a Royals uniform.
Both teams left three runners stranded on base. Neither team committed an error in the contest.
Linfield advances to the NCAA Finals for the first time since 2015. That season, the Wildcats placed third in the nation.
