MARSHALL, Texas – The Linfield Wildcats simply refuse to lose.
Brynn Nelson's two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning Friday at the NCAA Division III Championship carried Linfield to an intense 4-2 victory over Wisconsin-Oshkosh and earned the never-say-die Wildcats a day of recovery on Saturday.
Linfield next plays Belhaven on Sunday at 11 a.m. CDT (9 a.m. PDT). A second game, if necessary, is scheduled for 4 p.m. CDT (2 p.m. PDT). The Blazers must defeat the Wildcats twice in order to advance to the best-of-3 championship series.
On the opposite side of the bracket, host East Texas Baptist matches up with Rowan at 1:30 p.m. CDT (11:30 a.m. PDT). ETBU needs only one win to advance to the championship series.
The victory was Linfield's 50th of the season, one shy of equaling the school record of 51. Nelson's home run was the club's 61st of the season, moving it to No. 4 on Linfield's home run ladder.
Three-time All-American
Tayah Kelley went the distance in the circle for Linfield, picking up her 32nd win of the season. Kelley's 29th complete game of 2024 established a new single-season standard, surpassing Montana McNealy's school record set in 2015.
Similar to Thursday's opening round extra-innings victory over Tufts, Linfield snatched the early lead.
Tiani Wayton broke the ice with a sacrifice RBI, allowing pinch runner
Annika Dayberry to score from third base. Then with the bases loaded, Titans pitcher Brianna Bouglie hit
Kaili Saathoff with a pitch, giving
Mackenzie Burke an open door to home plate and a 2-0 Wildcats advantage.
UW-Oshkosh answered in the third inning with a pair of runs to deadlock the score. Sophie Wery drilled a double to left field, plating base runners Brianna Davis and Sydney Rau.
The score remained tied until the seventh. Saathoff laid down a perfectly placed bunt along the third-base line to open the inning. With one out, Nelson came to the plate and blasted her 15th homer over the left-field wall, putting the 'Cats in front 4-2.
UWO's Cali Divoto singled in the bottom of the seventh and the Titans brought the potential tying run to the plate. But Rau sent the ball straight into the glove of Kelley, who alertly threw out Divito at first base to complete the double play, ending the game.
Saathoff recorded two of the Wildcats' seven hits. Nelson, Burke,
Claire Seats,
Jacey Leyvas, and
Ashley Sutton contributed base hits as well.
Divito finished with two hits to lead UW-Oshkosh.
The Titans cycled through three pitchers. Bougie, the starter, lasted 3 2/3 innings before turning the game over to Abby Freismuth. One out later, Freismuth was replaced by Sydney Nemetz, who held the 'Cats to three hits over the final three frames.
Linfield stands one win away from reaching the best-of-three national championship series, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. Linfield is seeking its third NCAA Division III crown to go along with titles won in 2007 and 2011.
In other NCAA games Friday, East Texas Baptist blanked Rowan 7-0, Belhaven knocked off Case Western Reserve 5-2, Tufts eliminated Virginia Wesleyan 5-2, and East Texas Baptist edged Belhaven 3-2, and Rowan ousted Case Western Reserve 4-2.
