Linfield University Athletics

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TOURNAMENT GLANCE

The NCAA Division III softball playoff field has been whittled down to 16 regional champions and this week moves to the Super Regional round.
 
Linfield has been selected as one of eight Super Regional host sites. The Wildcats (41-5) square off against the Illinois Wesleyan Titans (37-7) in a best-of-three Super Regional Thursday and Friday, May 22-23, at Del Smith Stadium in McMinnville, Ore.
 
It's the second time the two storied softball programs will meet in the postseason with a berth to the NCAA Division III Championship Finals riding on the outcome.
 
TICKETS
As this is an NCAA-sponsored event, admission will be charged for all games. Tickets may be purchased using cash and credit card at the stadium ticket tent on game day.
 
Ticket prices are as follows:

Adult General Admission $10 per day
Senior Citizens $7 per day
Students with ID $7 per day
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION LIVE
The Linfield Sports Network is providing live video broadcasts of all games with Joe Stuart handling play-by-play duties. Linfield will also provide live statistics.
 
WEATHER
The forecast is calling for partly cloudy skies Thursday and Friday with temperatures in McMinnville in the mid-60s.
  THURSDAY, MAY 22
Game 1: Linfield 2, Illinois Wesleyan 0 (Linfield leads the best-of 3 series 1-0)
 
FRIDAY, MAY 23
Game 2: Linfield vs. Illinois Wesleyan 2 p.m. (PDT)
Game 3: TBA*, 4:30 p.m. (PDT), if necessary
*The designated home team is listed second for Games 1 and 2. The designated home team for Game 3 will be determined by a coin flip.
  LINFIELD WILDCATS (41-5, 25-3 NORTHWEST CONFERENCE)

•The Wildcats earned their spot in the NCAA Super Regional after sweeping through their regional field and going unbeaten in the NWC Tournament to clinch the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA playoffs.

•The Wildcats are seeking a third straight and ninth overall appearance in the NCAA Finals. Linfield entered the postseason ranked sixth in Division III in National Power Index.

•Linfield features Division III’s top offense, leading the country in runs (427), hits (520), home runs (92), batting average (.405), RBIs (406) and slugging percentage (.700), and rank among the top five nationally in on-base percentage (.468) and doubles (95).

•Claire Seats has been one of the top sluggers in Division III, hitting .474 while leading the nation with 23 doubles, 157 total bases and 76 RBIs and sitting among the top five in hits (74), home runs (20), and slugging percentage (1.006).

•Brynn Nelson’s 69 hits are top 15 in the country, and she, Cydney Hess and Jacey Leyvas are top 25 in RBI, in addition to Hess, Leyvas and Ashlyn Aven all being top 25 in the country in homers. Leyvas is top 25 in slugging percentage while she and Aven join Seats in the top 25 in total bases. Kaili Saathoff joins Seats in the top 15 rankings for runs scored.

•Tyler McNeley’s 27 wins, 10 shutouts and 25 complete games rank third in Division III and her 173.1 innings pitched are eighth. She’s among the top 15 nationally with 165 strikeouts and stands in the top 25 with a 6.11 strikeout-to-walk-ratio. She also led the NWC with a 1.02 WHIP and was second in the league with a 2.39 ERA and .222 opponent batting average.


ILLINOIS WESLEYAN TITANS (37-7, 16-0 COLLEGE CONFERENCE OF ILLINOIS AND WISCONSIN)

•The Titans earned their spot in the McMinnville Oregon Super Regional after sweeping through Bloomington Illinois regional field and going unblemished through the CCIW Tournament to secure the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. IWU has won 25 consecutive games.

•IWU is making its fifth appearance in the Super Regional and first since 2019, the same season they last reached the NCAA Finals. They entered the postseason ranked 14th by NPI.

•The Titans assembled the CCIW’s best offense, leading the league in runs (308), hits (439), average (.348), home runs (40), on-base percentage (.408) and slugging (.510). They stand 13th in the nation in homers and 18th in slugging percentage.

•Jen Kuhn headlines the IWU offense, finishing in the top 10 in the CCIW in batting average (.452), OBP (.479), slugging (.716), hits (70), home runs (8) and doubles (17). She leads the league and is 13th nationally with 59 RBI.

•Ava Khoury leads the team and the CCIW with 9 home runs this season, is second only to Kuhn in RBI (50) and is top five in the league in doubles (14) and slug (.687), while hitting .389.

•Bella Printer has been a key offensive contributor, slashing .361/.442/.590 with 32 RBI and seven homers and ranking second in the league with 23 walks.
•Titan pitchers have posted the 19^th best ERA (1.93) and 21^st best WHIP (1.12) in Division III, backed up by the nation’s 18th-highest fielding percentage (.972).

•Gianna Certa’s 19-2 record leads the CCIW and ranks 20th on the national wins chart. She’s posted a 2.12 ERA and 1.06 WHIP over 122.0 innings while holding opponents to a .228 average, all top-10 numbers in the CCIW.

•Mallory Holland has posted an 8-1 record while leading the conference with a 1.41 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and .183 opponent batting average in 79.2 innings pitched. Her seven saves rate among the top five relievers in Division III.