McMINNVILLE, Ore. –
Meara Sain equaled her career-high with five RBIs,
Ashlyn Aven hit her Division III-leading 23rd home run of the season over the center-field wall, and
Tyler McNeley struck out seven batters for the Linfield Wildcats, who rolled past Transylvania (Ky.) 12-1 Saturday afternoon in the championship game of the McMinnville Regional at Del Smith Stadium.
Making their 21st NCAA Division III Regional playoff appearance, the Wildcats secured the program's fourth straight and 13 overall regional championship. Under 25th-year head coach
Jackson Vaughan, the Wildcats have amassed an NCAA playoff record of 97-44.
Linfield went 3-0 at the four-team regional, with all three victories coming in five innings as a result of the eight-run mercy rule. The Wildcats (40-6) outscored Marymount (Va.), Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) and Transylvania by a combine margin of 42-1.
Linfield advances to the Super Regionals for the fourth straight season. The Wildcats will compete in a best-of-three series Thursday and Friday against Moravian University of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The winner advances to the eight-team NCAA Division III Championship Finals May 28-June 3 in Salem, Va.
Transylvania, which also defeated Marymount and PLU on its way to the regional title game, saw its season come to a close with a record of 37-13.
Sain continued her impressive run through the four-team regional tournament, going 3 for 4 at the plate and scoring two runs.
Breanna Bartek,
Cydney Hess,
Kaia Young and
Emily Foytack all contributed two hits in the game. Linfield piled up 13 hits to Transylvania's four.
McNeley raised her season record to 25-4, pitching all but one inning of the regional tournament for the 'Cats, posting two shutouts and allowing just a single run. The junior righthander followed up Friday's nine-strikeout effort with a seven-strikeout performance, allowing the Pioneers four hits and a single earned run.
Linfield scored in every inning, including ringing up five runs in the third to open up an 11-1 advantage.
Transylvania starter Raegan Gibson absorbed the loss in the circle to fall to 10-6. Four Pioneer pitchers managed just two strikeouts while walking five Wildcats and giving up 10 earned runs.
Kailey Goetz had two hits for the Pioneers. Avery Parsons and Jessica Strickland also contributed hits.
STAT CHECK
As a team, Linfield batted a collective .557 in the three-day tournament. Foytack (.833),
Sophie Pappas (.750), Sain (.700), Aven (.556), Young (.556),
Lexiss Antle (.500) and Bartek (.500) all hit .500 or better in the three NCAA playoff games. The Wildcats did not commit a single fielding error in 55 fielding opportunities. McNeley struck out 22 batters, allowed just two extra-base hits while posting a 0.50 earned run average over 14 innings of action.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Named to the McMinnville Regional All-Tournament Team are
Ashlyn Aven,
Meara Sain,
Lexiss Antle,
McKenna Parmelee,
Sophie Pappas, and
Tyler McNeley, all from Linfield; Malana Hamm and Avery Parsons from Transylvania, and Addie Myers and Kaya Collado from Pacific Lutheran. Sain was accorded the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.
