McMINNVILLE, Ore. –
Tyler McNeley earned two pitching wins, and
Jacey Leyvas and
Claire Seats combined to drive home 10 runs, carrying fourth-ranked Linfield past Lewis & Clark in a long-awaited battle of Northwest Conference front-runners Friday night at Del Smith Stadium.
The Wildcats flexed their offensive muscles in Game 1 on the way to an 11-0 series-opening five-inning win. The nightcap was much closer with Linfield eventually pulling way away in the middle innings for a 6-2 win.
Linfield moved to 26-2 for the season and remained perfect in the NWC at 16-0. Lewis & Clark slipped to 22-6 overall and 14-4 in conference play.
GAME 1: Linfield 11, Lewis & Clark 0, 5 innings
McNeley pitched a one-hit shutout, Seats doubled twice and pounded her 13
th home run of the season, and the Wildcats outhit the Pioneers 13-1 to dominate the series opener from start to finish.
Linfield wasted no time in asserting its offensive presence, rolling up six runs in the bottom of the first inning to seize early command.
Meara Sain led off the game with a double to center field, then was driven home by
Kaili Saathoff. Seats then pushed two runners across home plate with a double before Leyvas crushed a two-run home run to left field, her eighth of the year.
Cydney Hess closed the inning with a solo home run to left field, giving the Wildcats a comfortable 6-0 lead.
Linfield added three more runs in the third inning to build a 9-0 advantage. Hess tapped an RBI single to score Seats and
Tiani Wayton laid down a sacrifice bunt that scored pinch runner
Kaia Young.
The fourth inning saw Seats drill a home run to left-center field, stretching the final score to 11-0.
Linfield's 13-hit onslaught included included three doubles and three home runs.
Seats went 3 for 3 and drove in four runs. Saathoff, Hess and
Ashlyn Aven each contributed two hits in the contest. Leyvas and Hess each drove in a pair of runs.
McNeley struck out seven Pioneers and walked one, running her season record to 15-1.
Madison Scroggins accounted for Lewis & Clark's lone hit.
Pioneers starter Charlize Pope took the loss to drop to 8-2. The junior gave up four hits and five earned runs without recording a single out. The L&C coaching staff opted to turn the game over to Ryan Jurischk.
GAME 2: Linfield 6, Lewis & Clark 2
Leyvas drove in four runs in the nightcap, going 2 for 2 with a double and her ninth home run of the season.
The 'Cats produced eight hits on L&C star pitcher Maggie O'Leary (12-4). She walked three and struck out two Widlcats.
Lewis & Clark scored first run of day in the top of the first inning when Scroggins reached base on a fielders choice and later scored on Lacey Marglin's RBI single.
Linfield tied things up in the bottom of the frame on Leyvas' sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Saathoff from third base.
The Wildcats gained some breathing room in the third.
Brynn Nelson singled and Seats drew a walk from Pioneers starter Maggie O'Leary to put two runners on base. That's when Leyvas step to the plate and hammered her second home run of the night, clearing the left-field wall by 20 feet and giving the Wildcats a 5-1 cushion.
Madi Alvarez trimmed the Linfield lead to 5-2 lead in the fifth with an RBI single to right field that scored Emily Patton from second base.
Leyvas and Aven delivered back-to-back doubles in the fifth, pushing an insurance run across home plate for a 6-2 Wildcats advantage.
McNeley relieved starter
Tyler Warden in the fourth inning. She struck out three batters and held the Pioneers to just two hits and no walks over the final four frames to raise her season record to 16-1.
AHEAD
The Wildcats and Pioneers return to Del Smith Stadium Saturday to complete the four-game series starting at 1 p.m.
