FOREST GROVE, Ore. –
Tyler McNeley registered the first 7-inning perfect game in 16 years and second no-hitter in as many weeks as Linfield put the finishing touches on a dominating four-game Northwest Conference sweep of the Pacific Boxers Sunday afternoon at Sherman/Larkins Stadium.
Sunday against the Boxers McNeley faced the minimum 21 batters, allowing no hits, no walks and no base runners as the Wildcats won the opening game of a doubleheader 5-0. In two pitching appearances this weekend at Pacific, McNeley registered two complete-game shutouts, allowing just five hits and one walk over 12 innings with 16 strikeouts. The Wildcats followed that performance with veteran pitcher
Tyler Warden's 10-0 shutout of the Boxers in Game 2.
In the four-game series, Linfield outhit Pacific 54-14 and outscored the Boxers 45-1. The Wildcats batted .432 as a team while McNeley and Warden confined Pacific batters to a subpar .167 average. Offensively,
Meara Sain led the way with a .615 average (8 of 13, 5 runs scored, 3 RBIs).
Ashlyn Aven (.538, 7 of 13, 4 RBIs),
Jacey Leyvas (.500, 7 of 14, 5 RBIs) and
Kaili Saathoff (.467, 7 of 15, 9 RBIs) also made important offensive contributions.
Linfield, ranked No. 4 in the most recent NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, improved its season record to 24-2 and 14-0 in the NWC. Pacific saw its record fall to 5-17 overall and 5-11 in conference play.
GAME 1: Linfield 5, Pacific 0
McNeley struck out 10 Boxers on the way to her second no-hitter in a week. The sophomore righthander didn't allow Pacific a single walk while raising her season pitching record to 14-1.
Claire Seats produced two of the Wildcats' eight hits in the game and scored twice herself.
Tiani Wayton managed two stolen bases, drew two walks, went 1 for 1 at the plate and scored a run.
Linfield rung up three quick runs in the first inning as Seats doubled to drive home
Meara Sain for the game's initial run.
Ashlyn Aven then tapped an RBI single, scoring
Brynn Nelson, and Wayton drew a bases-loaded walk to force home Seats for a 3-0 Linfield lead.
The 'Cats added single runs in the third and fourth innings when
Jacey Leyvas delivered an RBI single and
Kaili Saathoff doubled to send Wayton across home plate.
GAME 2: Linfield 10, Pacific 0
Leadoff hitter
Meara Sain went 3 for 4 at the plate and scored two runs, pacing a 13-hit Linfield attack. Seats, Aven and Leyvas joined in with two hits in the contest. Seats smacked her NWC-leading 12th home run of the season in the third inning while Leyvas lofted her seventh of the season, a two-run blast in the seventh that accounted for the final runs of the game.
Warden went the distance in the circle, striking out four batters while holding the Boxers to six hits, zero walks and no runs. Warden improved to 8-1 for the season.
NO-HITTER NOTES
Recently graduated All-American
Tayah Kelley recorded two 5-inning perfect games: versus Whitworth during the first game of the 2023 NWC Tournament, and coincidentally, at Pacific in 2021. McNeley's no-hitter is the first 7-inning perfect game since Hall of Fame pitcher Brittany Miller achieved the feat versus Pacific Lutheran in 2009.
NEXT
Linfield returns home to face Lewis & Clark in a matchup of NWC frontrunners. Due to the Easter holiday on Sunday, the series features a modified schedule starting with a doubleheader Friday at 5 p.m. before finishing up with a second twinbill Saturday at noon at Del Smith Stadium.
