McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Linfield and Willamette began a three-game series with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Roy Helser Field. Willamette came from behind to steal the first game 7-6 before Linfield dominated the second game, putting up impressive offensive numbers in the 10-4 victory.
GAME 1: Willamette 7, Linfield 6
Linfield started the first game of the twin bill looking dominant on both sides of the ball, with
Camden Oram holding the Bearcats hitless through the first three innings and
Trent Wainfeld coming mere inches away from a grand-slam home run, but still managed to plate
Nick Holm and
Luke Porter.
Tyler Eisenhut then hit into a double play that
Tyler Marr took advantage of, reaching home for a 3-0 Linfield lead.
Willamette refused to go quietly as its offense responded in the fourth inning when Rocco Granucci got ahold of Oram's pitch and sent it over the left field fence to score two before Luke Piazza took the plate and tore off another home run to even the score.
The Wildcats were ready for the back-and-forth affair with Holm hitting a single to center field and Porter followed it up with a huger homer to right field, barely staying fair for a Linfield advantage to close out the sixth inning. Willamette followed up with an offensive explosion of its own, scoring four runs across the final two innings. In the final frame, Tassos Foster singled to right field, allowing Preston Lau to reach home before Adam Birt grounded out, plating Foster and Piazza nailed a RBI double, putting Willamette ahead, 7-5.
Linfield had a chance to tie the game or take the lead with Holm at the plate and the bases loaded but ultimately fouled out to end the first game with a 7-6 score after Wainfeld homered earlier in the inning.
Oram finished the game with eight innings pitched, allowing eight hits and four runs but recorded a season-high six strikeouts.
Gavin Ludlow was credited with the loss for the Wildcats. Offensively, Linfield put up 11 hits with three coming by the hand of Lewis with Porter and Wainfeld each recording a home run.
GAME 2: Linfield 10, Willamette 4
Linfield responded to the game one loss with a commanding 10-4 victory over Willamette in the nightcap at Roy Helser Field thanks to a burst of eight runs in the second inning.
Linfield's second inning allowed the Wildcats to take control of the game. They capitalized on a combination of timely hitting, Willamette errors, and aggressive baserunning. Porter delivered the biggest blow of the inning with a three-run home run to right center, his fourth of the season, capping off the scoring spree. Porter finished the game 1-for-2 with three RBI and two runs scored, while also drawing a hit-by-pitch.
The Wildcats' offense was relentless, with eight different players recording hits.
Hunter Klingelhoffer went 1-for-5 with two RBI, while
Elijah Maris and Holm each contributed RBI singles.
Josh Mansur scored three runs and reached base twice, including a hit-by-pitch, and
Wyatt McClory added an RBI single.
Linfield's pitching staff held Willamette in check for most of the game. Starter
Zach Johnson earned the win, improving to 3-0 on the season. Johnson pitched 5.1 innings, allowing three unearned runs on three hits while striking out seven. The bullpen, led by
Steve Kovac,
Carter Studer, and
Matthew Tacheny, combined for 3.2 innings and gave up one run, with Tacheny closing out the game with two scoreless frames.
Willamette struggled to generate offense early, as Johnson and the Linfield defense kept them off the board through the first five innings. The Bearcats finally broke through in the sixth, scoring three unearned runs thanks to a Linfield error and a two-run double by Preston Lau. They added another run in the eighth on an RBI fielder's choice by Beckett Montgomery, but it wasn't enough to overcome Linfield's early lead.
NEXT
After going 1-1 on Saturday, the Wildcats and Bearcats close out the series Sunday at Roy Helser Field with first pitch scheduled for noon.
