McMINNVILLE, Ore.—#3 Linfield University started and finished Sunday's doubleheader strong, to earn a doubleheader sweep over visiting Lewis & Clark College softball.
THE BASICS
#3 Linfield 14, Lewis & Clark 5 (5 Innings)
Linfield 5, Lewis & Clark 4
(Lewis & Clark 19-13, 14-6 Northwest Conference)
(Linfield 29-3, 17-3 NWC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
After suffering a second-straight run-rule defeat, Lewis & Clark came out on the front foot in the series finale.
Sofia Garcia kept Lewis & Clark in the game for nearly four innings and seniors
Madison Scroggins and
Gina Ozuna recorded game-tying and go-ahead RBI hits in the fifth inning to give Lewis & Clark a 4-2 advantage. Linfield would ultimately score the runs in the bottom of the seventh to secure the series victory.
Ozuna, Scroggins, senior
McKenna Zehnder and junior
Makena Dahir all finished with three hits in the doubleheader for Lewis & Clark. Ozuna paced the team with three RBI.
GAME ONE RECAP
Lewis & Clark grabbed the early lead for a third-straight game, but the Wildcats scored 13 runs in their first two at-bats to earn the 14-5 win.
Senior
Emily Patton, first year
Kodie Ancheta and Ozuna all posted two hits for the River Otters. Ancheta and Patton each added a run scored and Ozuna tacked on an RBI. Scroggins finished 1-2 with a run scored, an RBI and a walk and Dahir and Zehnder notched a base hit and an RBI.
In the circle, first year
Sammy Santa Ana threw the final two innings. She scattered one hit, three walks and one run, while striking out one batter.
Linfield ace Tyler McNeley was charged with nine hits, one walk and five runs (four earned). Her four earned runs are tied for the second-most runs she's allowed this season.
Lewis & Clark grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Scroggins (walk) and Patton (single) reached base with one down and Scroggins took third base on a fly out. Ozuna drove in her first run of the day with an RBI single to center field.
The hosts struck for four runs in the bottom of the first with McKenna Parmelee coming through with a two-run double to give Linfield a 3-1 edge.
The River Otters cut the deficit in half in the second. With two down and the bases empty, senior
Lacey Marglin was hit by a pitch and Ancheta followed with a single to center. Scroggins cut the deficit to 4-2 with an RBI single.
Linfield blew the game open in the second inning with nine runs on nine hits and three walks. Meara Sain and Cydney Hess each recorded two-run hits in the inning, to help the Wildcats extend their lead to 13-2.
Lewis & Clark would score twice in the third. Patton led off with a single and Campanella reached on an error to put two runners on. Ozuna loaded the bases with her second single of the contest. Dahir drove in Patton with an RBI groundout and Zehnder followed with an RBI single to left field to plate pinch runner
Lola Jarrette.
The River Otters would score for a fourth-straight inning against McNeley in the fourth. Ancheta led off with a single and moved to second when Linfield committed an error on a Scroggins ground ball. Patton moved both runners up 60 feet with a sac bunt and Campanella drove in Ancheta with a sacrifice fly to right field.
GAME TWO RECAP
The final contest of the series was similar to the first – with the teams trading leads and neither team being able to pull away.
Garcia, who was making her third collegiate start, held Linfield's potent lineup to six hits, three walks and two runs in 3.1 innings. Senior
Maggie O'Leary came on in the fourth inning and threw the final three frames. She allowed four hits and three runs and struck out one.
Dahir, Scroggins and Zehnder each finished with two hits. Dahir hit her seventh home run of the season and finished 2-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Scroggins added a run scored and an RBI. Ozuna chipped in a double and two RBI.
Dahir opened the scoring the top of the second, when she belted a solo home run over the center-field fence to give Lewis & Clark the early lead for a fourth-straight game.
Linfield tied the game in the third inning and took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. With runners on the corners and one down, O'Leary came on in relief and induced a pair of flyouts to keep the score 2-1.
Lewis & Clark immediately responded in the fifth. First year
Kara Kahahawai worked a leadoff walk and Ancheta followed with a single to right field. Scroggins drove a single to center to score Kahahawai and both trail runners moved up a base on the throw home. With two down and both runners still at second and third, Ozuna drove a fly ball to the warning track in left to plate both runners for a 4-2 edge.
O'Leary would hold the Wildcats to just one hit in the fifth and sixth innings. In the seventh, Ashlyn Aven hit a game-tying home run with one out and Hess followed with a solo shot to seal the 5-4 win.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Kahahawai made her first collegiate start in game two. She started in right field and went 0-2 with a walk and a run scored.
- Ozuna hit safely in all four games and nearly doubled her season total in RBI (nine). She finished the series 5-11 with four RBI, two doubles and two runs scored.
- A day after making her collegiate debut as a pinch runner, first year Rain Abrams made her debut behind the plate in the bottom of the fourth inning of game one on Sunday.
- Ancheta finished the series 8-17 (.471) with two doubles and four runs scored.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark will continue their eight-game NWC road trip, when they travel to Salem next weekend for a four-game set against Willamette University. First pitch on Saturday is scheduled for Noon.
