NEWBERG, Ore. – Linfield University softball coach
Jackson Vaughan reached 900 career victories on Sunday yet came just short of No. 901 as his third-ranked Wildcats were forced to settle for a split of their Northwest Conference softball doubleheader with Yamhill County rival George Fox at Morse Athletic Field.
Linfield won Sunday's opener, pulling ahead in the final frame for a 6-4 triumph. In the nightcap, the Bruins turned the tables with a come-from-behind 9-6 walkoff win. The teams divided the four-game weekend set 2-2 to begin NWC play.
Vaughan, in his 25
th season as Wildcats head coach, raised his career coaching record to 900-208-2 (.812), including a 550-93 mark (.855) in Northwest Conference games. Based on recently conducted research, he equals the fastest to reach the 900-win plateau among active Division III coaches, sharing that distinction with John Tschida of St. Mary's College (Minn.). His 550 conference wins are the most in league history and his .812 winning percentage stands third-highest among currently employed Division III head coaches.
GAME 1: Linfield 6, George Fox 4
Ashlyn Aven went 3 for 5, including a double, and drove in two runs, leading a 10-hit Linfield barrage.
Lexiss Antle added two hits and two RBIs, and
McKenna Parmelee smacked her third home run of the season for the 'Cats.
Tyler McNeley (4-0) struck out a season-high 11 batters, and though she conceded eight hits and four walks, limited the Bruins to four runs.
Linfield stranded 15 runners on base compared to George Fox's 6.
GAME 2: George Fox 9, Linfield 6
Sami Sandtlander's three run homer in the bottom of the seventh proved to be the difference in the tightly contested nightcap.
McNeley returned to the circle to pitch the entire game and very nearly came away with her second win of the day. She struck out six Bruins and walked four, but gave up 12 hits, including a pair of extra-base hits that enabled the Bruins to rally from behind.
Linfield pounded eight hits in the game off three different Bruins pitchers. Aven and
Meara Sain accounted for two hits each. Aven and
Cydney Hess both hit home runs and finished with three RBIs.
NEXT
Linfield (6-2, 2-0 NWC) makes its home debut this coming weekend, beginning with a four-game homestand against the Willamette Bearcats. Action starts Saturday with a doubleheader at noon at Del Smith Stadium before wrapping up Sunday with a twinbill beginning at 11 a.m.
