SPOKANE, Wash. – Ashlyn Aven clubbed three home runs and went 4 for 5 at the plate while Kaia Young, Cydney Hess and Meara Sain all had three hits to lead Linfield to a pair of lopsided Northwest Conference wins over Whitworth Sunday afternoon at Diana Marks Field.
 
At the end of the day, Linfield had totaled seven home runs among its 21 hits. The Wildcats defeated the Pirates 12-2 in five innings in the opening contest before rolling to a 14-4 six-inning triumph to close out a sweep of the four-game series.
 
Tyler McNeley and Destiny Cornwell each collected pitching wins, limiting the Pirates to a combined 10 hits and six runs.
 
Ranked No. 3 in the most recent National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 poll, the Wildcats ran their season win streak to 16 games. Their season record stands and 22-2 and 12-2 in the NWC. Whitworth slipped to 2-17 overall and 0-8 in conference play.
 
GAME 1: Linfield 12, Whitworth 2, 5 innings
Sain blasted a two-run homer to begin the scoring in the first inning and Young added a two-run single shortly after to make it 4-0 in favor of the 'Cats.
 
Whitworth cut the Linfield lead in half with two runs in the second stanza before Aven and Hess connected on back-to-back solo home runs in the third to open up a 6-2 Linfield advantage.
 
The fifth inning saw the Wildcat erupt for six more runs, including a three-run bomb by Aven, plus an a two-run double from Emily Foytack and an RBI single by Breanna Bartek.
 
McNeley (13-1) held Whitworth to four hits while striking out four batters and walking one.
 
GAME 2: Linfield 14, Whitworth 4, 6 innings
Sain, Aven and Foytack each contributed home runs and drove home multiple runs for the Wildcats, who accounted for 11 hits, six drawn walks and five stolen bases.
 
Foytack finished with a team-best three RBIs.
 
Cornwell (9-1) earned her second pitching victory of the weekend, scattering six hits over six innings of work.
 
AHEAD
The Wildcats head to Forest Grove for a NWC doubleheader against the Pacific Boxers. In recognition of the Easter holiday on Sunday, games will be played Friday at 5 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. at Sherman/Larkins Stadium on the Pacific University campus.
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