McMINNVILLE, Ore. –
Kaili Saathoff went 7 for 8 at the plate and scored five runs, powering the third-ranked Linfield Wildcats to an impressive sweep of SUNY-Oneonta in a Thursday twinbill at Del Smith Stadium.
Linfield improved its season record to 6-0, piling up 32 hits over 12 innings of action. The Wildcats won the opener 8-1 before rolling to a 12-0 victory over the Red Dragons (3-5) in the nightcap. Game 2 was shortened to five innings by the eight-run rule.
GAME 1: Linfield 8, SUNY-Oneonta 1
Tayah Kelley fanned 12 Oneonta batters in yet another dominating individual performance from the pitching circle. The senior All-American scattered three hits and issued no walks while improving her season record to 4-0.
Kaili Saathoff went 3 for 4 and scored three times,
Kyla Cross drove in three runs in her first collegiate start, and
Brynn Nelson drilled a pair of hits to go with a stolen base to carry the Wildcats offensively.
Linfield spotted Oneonta its only run of the day in the top of the first inning, that coming on an RBI single by Victoria Hussey. The Wildcats evened the score in the bottom of the frame, thanks in part to a wild pitch and a passed ball by the Red Dragons battery of pitcher Marissa Dionisio and catcher Julia Serena.
The 'Cats loaded the bases with one out in the second inning, setting the table for a two-run single by Cross.
Ashley Sutton made it 4-1 moments later, launching a sacrifice RBI to right field that scored Nelson from third base.
Nelson extended the Linfield lead to four runs, zipping a single to center field that plated Saathoff from second base.
Linfield again loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth before
Sophia vanderSommen tapped a bloop single to right field that scored Saathoff. A bases-loaded hit-by-pitch stretched the Linfield advantage to 7-1, and Jacey Levas sacrificed
Claire Seats home from third base for the game's final run.
Dionisio (0-3), the Red Dragons' starter, took the loss after surrendering eight hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings of action.
GAME 2: Linfield 12, SUNY-Oneonta 0, 5 innings
Saathoff went 4 for 4 with three runs scored and two RBIs, Seats went 3 for 3 and smacked her third home run of the season, and
Tyler McNeley picked up her second collegiate pitching victory in the circle.
Seats set the tone in first inning, blasting a three-run homer over the left-field wall. Nelson, Cross and
Ashlyn Aven each followed with successive base hits, enabling the Wildcats to open up a commanding 6-0 lead before the games was 15 minutes old. A two-run double by Saathoff made it 8-0 in favor of the 'Cats.
In the third, Seats and Nelson each drew bases-loaded walks off the pitches of Angelina Scalere, forcing home two more runs and pushing the score to 10-0.
The Wildcats rung up four more runs in the fourth, with Seats and Cross each delivering run-scoring hits.
Red Dragons starter Emily Brown (1-2) took the loss. She recorded just a single out before turning the game over to Candace Brennan.
Linfield outhit Oneonta 19-2.
AHEAD
Linfield dives back into Northwest Conference play Saturday and Sunday when the 'Cats visit Whitworth for a pair of doubleheaders. Action begins Saturday at 12 noon and at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
