KEIZER, Ore. – A 16-run outburst powered Linfield to a wild 16-11 victory over Willamette on Tuesday night at Volcanoes Stadium, as the Wildcats used a six-run seventh inning to pull away and beat the Bearcats for the third time this season.
Linfield scored in five innings and pounded out 16 hits, led by
Nick Holm's 4-for-6 day at the plate with two RBIs and three extra-base hits. Six Wildcats drove in multiple runs, and nine different players recorded hits in a balanced offensive display.
The game started rocky for the 'Cats, who fell behind 5-2 after two innings as Willamette capitalized on early pitching struggles and timely hits. Linfield responded by chipping away and eventually erupted for 13 runs between the fifth and seventh innings to take command.
Down 7-3 entering the fifth, the Wildcats flipped the script. After a key balk and a pair of RBIs from
Josh Mansur tied the game, Linfield pulled ahead 10-7 in the sixth on
Trent Wainfeld's two-run double and
Nate Kassler's squeeze bunt. The seventh inning blew the game open, with six more runs coming across.
Luke Porter tripled in two and finished with one hit and two RBI off the bench, while Kassler added an RBI double and
Marco Santulli contributed with a 3-for-5 night and an RBI.
Cooper Justice (3-0) picked up the win in relief, tossing three innings and allowing two runs on two hits.
Gavin Ludlow and
Jackson Koons combined for three scoreless innings to hold the lead. Linfield used seven pitchers in total, with
Garrett Hames recording the final out after a tense ninth that saw Willamette plate four runs and load the bases.
Defensively, the Wildcats committed just one error despite the high-scoring affair.
NEXT
The Wildcats now travel to Walla Walla, Washington for a road Northwest Conference series against the Whitman Blues with a doubleheader on Friday and the series finale on Saturday.
