McMINNVILLE, Ore. --- Linfield baseball (1-0) overcame an eight-run deficit late in Friday's home opener against Eastern Oregon (2-3), clawing back to earn a walk-off win, 10-9, for Jordan Harlow's first win as head coach of the Wildcats. 
 
Junior Matthew Tacheny got the starting nod on the bump in Linfield's first game of the season, allowing three-consecutive singles and a sacrifice fly in the first inning, giving Eastern Oregon a 1-0 lead. From there, he settled in over the next four frames, allowing just one hit the rest of his outing.
 
The Wildcats were hitless for Tacheny's outing, until junior Jaxson Kister came through with a double down the left field line in the home fifth. Garrett Hames and Luke Schoeffler's season debuts didn't go as planned, as the Mountaineers tacked on seven more in the sixth to take an 8-0 lead.
 
Linfield responded in the home half, as Ely Kennel and Nick Holm worked walks and Rylan Gulard split the two with a single to load the bags with no outs. Pinch-hitting, Jackson Bui came through with a two-RBI single to knock the EOU reliever out of the game. Runners advanced while Holm scored on a Mountaineers wild pitch, followed by a sacrifice fly from Kister, making it 8-4 Eastern through six. 
 
Kister came through again in the eighth, ripping a one-out homer to left field, cutting the deficit to just two entering the ninth. Eastern added one insurance run in the top half, as Wyatt Hurley got the 'Cats out of the jam without further damage.
 
The home ninth opened with two early outs after a double-play ball, while Ely Kennel remained on third. A Bui walk and a Luke Porter single drove in two, trailing by just one. The two-out rally continued as Kister reached on an error, Cole Snidow doubled to left, tying the game with two runners in scoring position. Yet another EOU wild pitch sealed the game, scoring Kister, giving Linfield the come from behind 10-9 victory. 
 
"[I'm] proud of the way the guys fought back into the game after falling behind early. This win speaks to their grit and toughness as a group." Said Harlow after he and the team's first win of the season.
 
Kister went 2-4 at the dish, including three runs batted in, largely in part to his eighth inning home run to propel the comeback. Rylan Gullard and Cole Snidow also added two hits a-piece in the game. Hurley earned the win on the mound with just one-third inning of work, although starter Matthew Tacheny had a solid outing with four hits over five innings, allowing one run.
 
The Wildcats host the Mountaineers for two more games over the weekend at Roy Helser Field, looking to take the series tomorrow afternoon at Noon.
 
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