McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Linfield's offensive explosion led the Wildcats to a doubleheader sweep of visiting UMass Boston on Friday afternoon at Roy Helser Field. The 'Cats blasted five total home runs with three coming in the 12-2 game one victory and the next two coming in a 9-5 game two win.
Matthew Lewis finished his day with two home runs, five hits, and eight RBIs to lead the Linfield offense.
GAME 1: Linfield 12 - UMass Boston 2
Camden Oram was masterful in eight innings of work. Oram struck (3-2) out a career-high 11 batters and only surrendered two earned runs in a winning effort.
Lewis,
Nick Holm and
Trent Wainfeld all mashed home runs for the Wildcats.
Elijah Maris and Garrett Ringer each finished with an extra-base hit. Lewis and Holm combined for nine RBIs. The Wildcats finished game one with 15 total hits.
Ross Dexter (0-2) was tagged with the loss for the Beacons. Aidan Blake led the UMass Boston offense with two RBIs.
Linfield jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after the first two innings. Blake's two-run home run in the top of the six sliced the lead to one. The 'Cats scored three runs across their halves of the sixth and seventh innings. Linfield pulled away after plating six runs in the bottom of the eighth.
GAME 2: Linfield 9 - UMass Boston 5
Jacob Swenson went five and two-thirds innings striking out six batters in his start for the 'Cats.
Gavin Ludlow (1-2) earned his first win of the season after pitching just over three innings in relief and also striking out six batters.
Maris finished with a home run and a team-high three hits. Lewis hit his second home run of the day and finished with a game-high four RBIs. Wainfeld accounted for two RBIs. The Wildcats again outhit the Beacons 10-9.
Max Moss went six innings as the Beacons starter, giving up only two runs and punching out five batters. Mariano Jimenez led UMass Boston with three hits while Breon Parker and Blake each added two RBIs.
The Wildcats and Beacons were locked at two apiece after the first two frames. UMass Boston pulled ahead for a moment with two runs in the fifth inning until Linfield responded with two runs in the seventh.
Lewis' grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning fueled a massive five-run inning that propelled the 'Cats to a significant lead. UMass Boston brought one run across in the top of the ninth.
ON DECK
The Wildcats (7-8) are back at Roy Helser Field for a rescheduled game against Pacific on Tuesday. The first pitch against the Boxers is scheduled for 4 p.m.
