McMINNVILLE, Ore. – A classic pitchers duel between the Northwest Conference's top two hurlers kept fans on the edge of their seats Saturday in the winners bracket of the NWC Tournament at Linfield University's Del Smith Stadium.
Kaili Saathoff's third-inning double drove home
Tiani Wayton from second base, accounting for the game's only run and elevating top-seeded Linfield to a 1-0 victory No. 2 seed Lewis & Clark.
Linfield (42-0) advances to Sunday's championship series against Lewis & Clark (28-15) at noon. The Wildcats need to defeat the Pioneers just once to claim the NWC's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III regional playoffs.
Linfield ace
Tayah Kelley was masterful in the circle, confining the Pioneers to three hits while striking out 13 and issuing no walks. Kelley logged her 25th win of the season.
Her counterpart, L&C's Charlize Pope, held the powerful Linfield batting order to three hits before turning the game over to Maggie O'Leary with no outs in the sixth. Pope produced just two strikeouts but gave up three walks and hit two batters. The sophomore was charged with the loss to fall to 12-7.
Linfield nearly added to its narrow lead in the bottom of the sixth, moving two runners into scoring position with one out. But O'Leary rose to the occasion by striking out pinch hitter
Sydney Ries and
Tiani Wayton, each with full-count pitches to end the inning.
The Pioneers did themselves no favors by committing three errors in the contest.
Katie Ingersoll tapped a pair of hits for the Pioneers and Harper Campanella added one other.
Saathoff went 2 for 3 while
Ashlyn Aven added Linfield's third hit.
OTHER GAMES SATURDAY
Rachel Treves pitched a four-hit shutout and Paola Garcia went 2 for 3 at the plate and drove in a run for Pacific Lutheran, which eliminated Willamette from contention with a 2-0 victory. The Bearcats concluded their season with a mark of 17-23.
In Saturday's late game, Makena Dahir lofted a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to push Lewis & Clark past PLU 8-7. The Pioneers rallied from a 5-0 deficit in the middle innings to keep their season alive. PLU ended its 2024 campaign with a record of 24-19.
