REDLANDS, Calif. –
Claire Seats and
Brynn Nelson each had five hits,
Jacey Leyvas went 3 for 5 with a double and a grand slam home run, and the No. 2 Linfield Wildcats split a doubleheader Sunday with the sixth-ranked Redlands Bulldogs in a long-awaited rematch of West Coast heavyweights at the Field of Dreams.
Linfield (16-2) won the opening contest 12-8 before Redlands (21-7) returned the favor with a 6-2 upset in the nightcap, snapping the Wildcats' 14-game win streak.
GAME 1: Linfield 12, Redlands 8
A grand slam homer by Leyvas against her hometown team turned a three-run Linfield deficit into a lopsided victory for the Wildcats.
Linfield produced 15 hits in the game but had to climb from a 5-2 hole to eventually take a 12-5 lead.
Seats led off the scoring with a two-run home run in the first inning, her eighth of the season, giving the Wildcats a quick 2-0 cushion.
The Bulldogs responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning, as Katlyn Gandara drove a double to left-center field to score Brooklyn Bard. Adyson Kim then sent a bases-loaded double to center field, putting Redlands in front 4-1. Redlands then made it 5-2, cashing in on a Wildcats fielding error to score an unearned run.
Ashlyn Aven cut the deficit to 5-3 with an RBI single in the third, scoring Seats from second base.
Linfield batted up and down the lineup in the fifth inning, breaking the game wide open with nine runs coming from nine hits, including Leyvas' game-changing grand slam.
A three-run homer by Gandara in the bottom of the seventh inning made the game interesting at the end, trimming the score to 12-8, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would come.
Seats, Aven and Nelson all went 3 for 5 in the game. Leyvas drove in five runs and drew a pair of walks.
Kaili Saathoff scored twice and drove in two runs.
Wildcats starting pitcher
Tyler McNeley went the distance and allowed eight hits. The sophomore righthander registered the complete-game victory, earning her 10th pitching win of the season against just one defeat.
Brianna Garcia, who entered in relief of Bulldogs starter Paige Ellinger, was saddled with the loss to fall to 3-3 for the season.
Gandara accounted for three of the Bulldogs' eight hits.
GAME 2: Redlands 6, Linfield 2
The Bulldogs kept steady pressure on the Wildcats throughout the game, notching at least one run in every inning but the sixth.
Linfield trailed 3-0 in the top of the fourth inning before
Cydney Hess got the Wildcats on the board, sending a pitch over the center field fence for her sixth homer of the season. Linfield's only other scoring play came in the sixth inning when
Sophia vanderSommen lofted a sacrifice RBI to score Leyvas.
Redlands generated 13 hits against Game 2 starter
Tyler Warden (4-1), handing the grad student her first defeat of the 2025 season. Warden conceded six earned runs and didn't allow a single walk, but managed just one strikeout.
Paige Messenlehner was the offensive hero for Redlands, going 3 for 4 at the plate with a two-run home run in the fourth.
CALIFORNIA SUMMARY
Three Wildcats hit .500 or better at the plate during Linfield's six games in California. Leyvas (.650, 13 hits, 6 runs, 3 HR, 10 RBI), Aven (.520, 13 hits, 6 runs, 3 HR, 6 RBI) and Seats (.500, 13 hits, 8 runs, 4 HR, 8 RBI) were the leading offensive producers. Pitcher
Tyler McNeley went 3-0 while pitching three complete games. The sophomore All-American struck out 10 batters and walked three. As a team, Linfield hit .437 and clubbed 11 doubles and 15 home runs.
AHEAD
Linfield returns to Northwest Conference play with a four-game home series against Puget Sound. Saturday's doubleheader begins at noon at Del Smith Stadium. Sunday's twinbill is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.
