McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Another season, another Northwest Conference Tournament championship and NCAA Division III regional playoff berth for the Linfield University Wildcats.
Linfield pitching phenom
Tayah Kelley struck out 11 and held the Pioneers to just two hits, and
Kaili Saathoff drove in three runs to carry top-ranked and unbeaten Linfield to a 6-2 victory over the Lewis & Clark Pioneers Sunday afternoon in the championship game of the Northwest Conference Softball Tournament.
The Wildcats extended their unbeaten record to 43-0. Lewis & Clark, competing in only its second NWC Tournament, saw its season come to a close with a 28-16 record.
The win secured a sixth straight NWC Tournament championship for Linfield as well as the automatic invitation to the NCAA Division III regional playoffs, which begin Thursday at campus sites throughout the country. Pairings will be announced Monday at 8 a.m. on NCAA.com.
Linfield took a 2-0 lead in the early going, notching single runs in the first and seconds innings following RBIs from
Claire Seats and Saathoff. The Pioneers answered with Gina Ozuna's two-run single in the third inning, knotting the score at 2.
Back-to-back walks issued by Pioneers starter Maggie O'Leary set the table for Saathoff's game-clinching triple to right-center field, sending
Tiani Wayton and
Ashley Sutton across home plate.
Cydney Hess drilled a double to left-center on the next at-bat, pushing Saathoff home for a 5-2 Wildcats lead.
Jacey Leyvas put the finishing touches on the Wildcats three-game sweep of the NWC Tournament with a solo home run off the pitch of Charlize Pope in the the fifth.
Maggie O'Leary began the game in the circle for the Pioneers, lasting 3 1/3 innings before being chased from the game and replaced by Pope. O'Leary fell to 14-7 for the season, giving up six hits and four walks, recording just two strikeouts.
Kelley was as dominant as ever, striking out the first six batters she faced on the way to her 26th pitching win.
Linfield outhit Lewis & Clark 7-2. Ozuna and pinch hitter Megan Yanagi recorded the Pioneers' only hits.
In three NWC Tournament games, Saathoff led the way with a .636 average, going 7 for 11 with two doubles, a triple and five RBIs. Kelley pitched two complete games in her three appearances, including a 1-0 shutout of the Pioneers on Friday, totaling 31 strikeouts in 22 innings of work. Kelley and
Tyler McNeley combined to hold opponents to a .184 batting average.
