McMINNVILLE, Ore. – As steady rain moved in over the region, Whitman showed no effects in handing Linfield its first baseball defeat Saturday, 13-1, in a non-conference game called after six innings.
Linfield won two of three games at its own unnamed tournament, which featured Northwest Conference foes Whitman, Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound.
Hunter Klingelhoffer,
Tyler Marr and
Tyler Eisenhut each contributed base hits for the Wildcats in the contest.
Linfield broke the ice in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI single by
Tyler Marr that drove home
Nick Holm from second base.
Whitman answered in the top of the third with Jack Bickerton's grand slam home run off the pitch of Wildcats starter
Garrett Hames. The Blues added to their lead moments later on Brandon Ting's ground-out RBI that scored Beck McGuire, dropping the Wildcats into a 5-1 hole.
In the top of the fifth, Whitman padded its lead with a single run after Wildcats pitcher
Steve Kovac issued a bases-loaded walk to score another run. From there,
Cosmo Lange entered the game, and in his first collegiate appearance, surrendered two hits and another run.
Hames took the loss in his first start in a Wildcats uniform. He was charged with three hits, two walks and seven runs while striking out four batters.
Bickerton and McGuire both finished with four RBIs to power the Blues to the decisive victory.
AHEAD
Linfield hosts George Fox Saturday and Sunday at Roy Helser Field to open Northwest Conference play. Action begins at noon both days.
