McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Third-ranked Linfield put the finishing touches on a four-game Northwest Conference sweep of the Whitworth Pirates Sunday at Del Smith Stadium.
In the four-game series, Linfield outscored Whitworth 40-2 while outhitting the Pirates 42-15.
Brynn Nelson led the way hitting .692 (9 of 13, 9 RBIs)
Claire Seats batted .583 (7 of 12, 9 RBIs), and
Jacey Leyvas hit .545 (6 of 11, 3 RBIs). Wildcats pitching ace
Tyler McNeley allowed no runs and just four hits across 12 innings of action, striking out 11 along the way.
Defending NWC champion Linfield improved its season record to 9-1 and 4-0 in conference play. Whitworth departed McMinnville still searching for its first win, falling to 0-6 and 0-4 in the NWC.
GAME 1: Linfield 10, Whitworth 0, 5 innings
Meara Sain led off the Linfield first inning with a double to the left-field wall and was driven home by a RBI double to left by Seats minutes later. An RBI single by Nelson followed, giving the Wildcats a quick 3-0 lead after one complete inning.
Linfield added three more runs in the second when Seats blasted her fourth home run of the season over the left-field fence, extending the Linfield lead to 6-0.
The 'Cats pushed across four runs in the fourth stanza, highlighted by two-run homer from
Kaili Saathoff, her first of the season and third of her distinguished career.
Seats and Nelson each went 3 for 3 at the plate to pace an 11-hit offensive effort by the 'Cats.
McNeley picked up her fifth pitching win of the young season. The sophomore righthander struck out three Pirates while allowing three hits and no walks to earn the complete-game victory.
Momi Lyman (0-2), the Whitworth starter, took her second loss of the series. She gave up 10 hits and seven earned runs over 3 1/3 innings before turning the game over to Reiss McIntyre.
Taylor Hofheins went 2 for 2 at the plate for Whitworth.
GAME 2: Linfield 8, Whitworth 0, 5 innings
Tyler Warden earned the pitching victory to raise her season record to 3-0. The graduate student scattered four hits and two walks while striking out one Pirate across the opening four innings before giving way to reliever
Lacey Vasas.
Nelson went 3 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs, Saathoff doubled and scored three times, and
Cydney Hess had a pair of hits and drove in three runs.
Like the first game, Linfield struck for bunches of runs in the early innings, getting four runs in the first and three more in the second.
With Linfield leading 8-0 in the fourth, Whitworth got its first runs of the series in the fifth, as Hofheins and Sage each took turns tapping RBI singles on Vasas.
Whitworth starter Teeghan Reams (0-1) took the loss. The junior righthander gave up four runs while recording just a single out before being replaced by McIntyre.
AHEAD
Linfield heads to Tacoma for a four-game NWC series against Pacific Lutheran. Saturday's doubleheader begins at noon. Sunday's twinbill gets underway at 11 a.m.
