McMINNVILLE, Ore. – With their team down to its final two outs and trailing Lewis & Clark by two runs,
Ashlyn Aven and
Cydney Hess came through when it mattered most.
The two all-star senior softball players belted dramatic back-to-back fence-clearing missiles, producing the tying and go-ahead runs to carry the third-ranked Linfield Wildcats past the Lewis & Clark River Otters in the final game of a key four-game Northwest Conference series Sunday at Del Smith Stadium.
The Wildcats prevailed 5-4 to finish with three wins in four series games. Earlier Sunday, Linfield defeated Lewis & Clark 15-4 in a game shortened to five innings by the eight-run rule.
Linfield (29-3, 17-3 NWC) held tight onto a share of first place with Pacific Lutheran in the NWC standings. Lewis & Clark (19-13, 14-6 NWC) emerged from the four-game series with just a single victory, that coming in an epic 13-inning Game 1 on Saturday.
GAME 1: Linfield 14, Lewis & Clark 5, 5 innings
Meara Sain singled, doubled twice, drove in four runs, and scored two runs herself, leading a 14-hit onslaught by the Wildcats in the opener.
McKenna Parmelee had two doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored.
Breanna Bartek drew two walks, stole two bases and scored three times to aid the Linfield offensive effort.
Tyler McNeley (15-1) earned her second pitching victory of the weekend. The junior righthander allowed nine hits and one walk logging one strikeout.
L&C pitching ace Maggie O'Leary was saddled with the loss. O'Leary gave up eight hits, eight runs in just one inning before being replaced.
Lewis & Clark took the initial lead on Gina Ozuna's line-drive single in the top of the first inning, scoring Madison Scroggins. In the bottom of the inning, the Wildcats jumped O'Leary for eight hits and four runs, including a two-run double by
McKenna Parmelee, to open up a 4-1 early advantage.
L&C trimmed the margin to 4-2 in the second on Scroggins' RBI single down the left-field line, allowing Lacey Marglin to score.
The bottom of the second inning set left no question as to the outcome of the game. Linfield proceeded to load the bases on O'Leary with no outs in the bottom of the second.
Meara Sain then unleashed a two-run double, sending O'Leary to the bench in favor of Kara Kahahawai.
Cydney Hess followed with a lofting two-run single to center field, pushing the Linfield advantage to 8-2. Parmelee then drove a double to the wall in center field, scoring two more runs, still with no outs. A sacrifice fly by
Lexiss Antle scored Parmelee minutes later,
Kya Lindell added a RBI single, scoring
Kaia Young from third base, and Sain added her second base hit of the inning to stretch the score to 13-2.
Lewis & Clark chipped away at the deficit with two runs in the top of the third inning, then pulled within eight runs, 13-5, on Harper Campanella's sacrifice RBI in the fourth inning.
Sain added an insurance run in the fourth, giving her four RBIs for the game.
Ozuza, Emily Patton and Kodie Ancheta each recorded two hits for the River Otters.
GAME 2: Linfield 13, Lewis & Clark 3, 5 innings
Lewis & Clark appeared on its way to its second win over Linfield of the series, leading 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning. But Sain singled to put a runner on base, bringing Aven, the NCAA Division III leader in home runs, to the plate. She promptly hit her 16th home of the season, bouncing off the rooftop of the batting cages in center field.
Hess was next to the plate with the game tied at 4, and the third baseman swatted O'Leary's 0-1 offering to left field for the game-winning swing.
Linfield outhit L&C 10-8 with every Wildcat starter notching at least one base hit.
Linfield took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth on Antle's sacrifice fly, plating pinch runner Katelyn Dilbeck from third base.
Scroggins tied the game in the top of the fifth, driving home Kara Kahahawai from third base. Wildcats starting pitcher
Destiny Cornwell faced a pivotal stretch with runners at second and third base and no outs, but Emily Patton popped out into the glove of Parmelee, Cornwell struck out Campanella, but Ozuna drilled a two-run double to left field, giving the River Otters at 4-2 lead.
Destiny Cornwell, who pitched 13 innings on Saturday, earned her second win of the series, improving to 13-2. She struck out six Otters and walked two whle giving up eight hits.
L&C's O'Leary suffered her second loss of the day to fall to 12-7.
NEXT
Linfield heads to Tacoma, Washington, next weekend for another key NWC series. The Wildcats are set to take on conference co-leader Pacific Lutheran in a four-game set starting with a doubleheader Saturday at noon. The teams will wrap up the series Sunday with two games starting at 11 a.m.
