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6
Winner Linfield LIN 10-1
2
Pacific Lutheran PLU 10-3
Winner
Linfield LIN
10-1
6
Final
2
Pacific Lutheran PLU
10-3
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Linfield LIN 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 6 5 1
Pacific Lutheran PLU 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 4 0

W: McNeley, Tyler (7-1) L: R. Rhinehart (3-1)

Meara Sain
Kelly Bird, Linfield Sports Communications

Game Recap: Softball |

'Cats rally from early deficit, top Lutes 6-2 in Tacoma

TACOMA, Wash. – Tyler McNeley spun a four-hitter in the pitching circle and Meara Sain went 2 for 3 at the plate, including a home run, to carry the Linfield Wildcats to 6-2 Northwest Conference victory over Pacific Lutheran at the PLU softball field on Sunday.
 
Linfield, ranked second in the most recent NFCA Top 25 poll, improved to 11-1 and 6-0 in the NWC. PLU saw its record slip to 10-4 and 0-2 in conference play.
 
Heavy rain in the area had caused havoc with the series schedule, allowing the Wildcats and Lutes to play just single games on Friday and Sunday, rather than the customary twin doubleheaders Saturday and Sunday.
 
The makeup date and time for the remaining two games is yet to be determined.
 
McNeley (7-1) struck out five Lutes and allowed no earned runs and no walks to earn her second complete-game victory of the series.
 
Sunday's contest remained a scoreless affair through the better part of four innings, matching the pitching prowess of McNeley and Lutes graduate student Rachael Rhinehart. PLU plated its only two runs on a pair of Linfield miscues in bottom of the fourth. Zoe Smithson and Kamalani Doctor each tapped hits to put runners on base, before Smithson scored on an error and Doctor capitalized on a wild pitch to reach home plate.
 
The Wildcats answered with Sain's game-tying swing of the bat in the top of the fifth. After Tiani Wayton drew a leadoff walk to begin in the frame, Sain drilled a home run – her first of the season – over the left field wall to knot the score at 2.
 
Minutes later, Brynn Nelson gave Linfield a 3-2 lead with an RBI single on a sharply hit grounder through the infield, scoring Kaili Saathoff from second base. Cydney Hess followed with an RBI single, sending Claire Seats home from third. Jacey Leyvas then extended the Wildcats' advantage to 5-2 with a single through the right side that scored pinch runner Breanna Bartek.
 
In the sixth, the Wildcats added an insurance run when Sain scored on a wild pitch to make the score 6-2.
 
Rhinehart (3-1) absorbed her first defeat of 2025, striking out out four Wildcats but walking eight batters and giving up six earned runs, five hits and four wild pitches.
 
NEXT
For the moment at least, the Wildcats have a 12-day breather in their schedule before packing their bags for a spring break trip to California where they'll face Cal Lutheran (March 28), La Verne (March 29) and Redlands (March 30) in succession.
 
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Scoring Summary

Score By Innings
Play LIN PLU
PLU BOT 4th A. McAuley reached on an error by 1b, advanced to second, RBI; K. Doctor advanced to second on the error, advanced to third; Z. Smithson scored on the error, unearned. 0 1
PLU BOT 4th K. Doctor scored on a wild pitch, unearned. 0 2
LIN TOP 5th Sain homered, 2 RBI; Wayton scored. 2 2
LIN TOP 5th Nelson singled through the left side, RBI; Seats advanced to third; Saathoff scored. 3 2
LIN TOP 5th Hess reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; Bartek advanced to third; Seats scored. 4 2
LIN TOP 5th Leyvas reached on a fielder's choice, RBI; Hess advanced to second; Bartek scored. 5 2
LIN TOP 6th Nelson advanced to second on a wild pitch; Sain scored on a wild pitch. 6 2

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