McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Unbeaten Linfield clinched its third straight and 17th overall Northwest Conference championship Friday evening at Del Smith Stadium, posting a pair of come-from-behind victories over their Yamhill County rivals.
Linfield (34-0, 22-0 NWC) breezed past George Fox 11-2 in a five-inning run-rule shortened Game 1, then pulled away from a 2-2 tie in the fourth to prevail 7-2 in Game 2.
George Fox lost for the fifth time in six outings to slip to 18-16 and 11-11 in the NWC.
GAME 1: Linfield 11, George Fox 2, 5 innings
Tayah Kelley and the Wildcats spotted the Bruins two first-inning runs before seizing command with a 13-hit performance in the series opener. The game was shortened to five innings by the eight- run rule.
Kamryn Potter and the Bruins got the scoring started with a double off a Kelley pitch on the game's second at-bat. Cleanup hitter Sharon Tomei then delivered a two-run homer for a quick 2-0 George Fox lead.
The 'Cats responded with a five-run flurry in the bottom of the first.
Jacey Leyvas drove home
Brynn Nelson, then with the bases loaded and two outs,
Sophia vanderSommen laced a double to center field, sending home three runners.
Ashley Sutton's single to left field scored vanderSommen, giving the Wildcats a 5-2 advantage.
Linfield produced three more runs in the third.
Ashlyn Aven led off with a double and was driven home when Sutton laid down a perfectly executed bunt single. Tiani Waton zipped a single to left field, scoring vanderSommen, and
Kaili Saathoff sacrificed pinch runner
Natalie Brinda home, extending the Wildcats' lead to 8-2.
Claire Seats went 3 for 4 while Nelson, Sutton and Wayton all contributed a pair of runs.
Posting her 16th complete game victory of the season, Kelley piled up nine strikeouts, including the entire side in the third inning. The Wildcats All-American boosted her season record to 21-0.
Bruins starter Emma Eastman took the loss to fall to 7-6. She conceded seven hits and two walks over just two innings of action.
Linfield outhit George Fox 13-4. The Bruins committed three errors while the Wildcats were spotless on defense.
GAME 2: Linfield 7, George Fox 2
Sutton clobbered her second home run of the season to highlight a second come-from-behind effort in the nightcap.
The Bruins plated a single run in the first inning as Tinley Taylor drilled a single to left field, scoring leadoff hitter Makayla Noone from third base. George Fox had the chance to do more damage, loading the bases with two outs, but Wildcats pitcher
Tyler McNeley struck out Aliya Harmon
Noone tripled in the second, then reached home on a Wildcats fielding error to put the visitors in front 2-0. With runners positioned at second and third, but McNeley got Tomei to pop out into the glove of Seats in center field for the third out.
Linfield struck back with a two-run homer by Sutton, her second of the season, knotting the game at 2.
In the fourth, three consecutive Linfield singles loaded the bases with no outs, opening the door for Saathoff's RBI single to left field to put the 'Cats in front 3-2.
The Bruins put two runners on base in the fifth, but McNeley responded by striking out Kiley Harris to quell the threat.
The 'Cats put the game out of reach with four runs in the sixth, loading the bases with one out.
Cydney Hess reached base on a fielder's choice, enabling Sutton to score. Seats then threaded a two-run double to left-center before Leyvas added an RBI of her own, singling to score Seats.
Saathoff, Sutton and Wayton all accounted two hits. Seats and Sutton both drove in a pair of runs.
McNeley (13-0) struck out seven Bruins and walked a pair. She gave up eight hits and a pair of walks before turning the game over to Kelley to begin the sixth inning. Kelley earned her second save of the season in relief, striking out two and walking one.
Harris, the Bruins starter, lasted 1 2/3 innings before turning the game over to Eastman, who allowed seven hits, five runs and two walks in taking her second defeat of the day.
Overcoming three defensive miscues in the contest, the 'Cats outhit the Bruins 11-10 and outscored them 5-0 acrosse the final four frames.
AHEAD
The Wildcats and Bruins will take Saturday off in observance of the George Fox commencement ceremonies but will return to Del Smith Stadium on Sunday. The twinbill gets underway at noon.
