McMINNVILLE, Ore. –
Kaili Saathoff went 3 for 3 with a home run and
Tyler McNeley pitched a one-hit shutout, powering the home-run happy Linfield Wildcats to an emphatic 11-0 victory over the Illinois Wesleyan Titans in the deciding game of the NCAA Division III McMinnville Oregon Super Region Friday afternoon at Del Smith Stadium.
Linfield (43-5), earned its third straight trip to the NCAA Finals where they will play Saint Mary's (Minn.) Thursday at 11:30 a.m. PDT in Bloomington, Illinois.
Illinois Wesleyan (37-9), champions of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, saw its season end with two straight defeats at the hands of Linfield after a run of 25 straight wins.
McNeley, named the Super Regional's Most Outstanding Pitcher, held the Titans to a single hit, that coming in the fourth inning off the bat of Anna Beckman.
Saathoff, honored as the Super Regional's Most Outstanding Player, went 3 for 3 at the plate, including solo home blast to right field in the first inning that gave the 'Cats the early momentum. Teammate
Meara Sain drove in three runs of her own, including a thrilling inside-the-park home run that put Linfield in front 7-0.
Fellow Wildcats
Ashlyn Aven and
Cydney Hess also contributed to the home run party, swatting round-trip blasts to raise the Wildcats' season home run total to 96, seven short of Division III record of 103 set by Linfield's national championship team of 2011.
Illinois Wesleyan cycled through four pitchers in the contest, but none could contain the hot-hitting Wildcats. Titans starter Gianna Certa (19-3) took the loss after giving up three runs over the opening two innings.
McNeley (30-2) struck out for and didn't yield a single walk to the Titans for a second straight day. She became just the fourth pitcher in Linfield history to reach the 30-win plateau in a single season.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Named to the McMinnville Super Regional All-Tournament Team from Linfield were
Meara Sain,
Kaili Saathoff,
Claire Seats,
Cydney Hess,
Tiani Wayton,
Ashley Sutton,
Tyler McNeley. Named to the All-Tournament Team from Illinois Wesleyan were Anna Beckman, Ella Hermes, Mallory Holland and Caroline Gatchell.
WHAT'S NEXT
The NCAA Division III Softball Committee convene Friday night to reseed the eight-team field and determine matchups for the championship finals. Linfield is expected to depart for Illinois on Tuesday and practice on Wednesday before beginning the double-elimination tournament at Inspiration Field on the Illinois Wesleyan University campus on Thursday.
