Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Bouncing back from getting no-hit in the opening game, Whitworth's bats came alive in an 8-3 win in the second game of a Northwest Conference softball doubleheader at Linfield on Saturday.
The defending NWC champion Wildcats won the opener 4-0 behind the no-hit effort from pitcher Montana McNealy. Shannon Wessel's three-run homer in the top of the first inning of the second game got the Pirates offense started. Whitworth improved to 26-8 overall and 17-5 in the NWC and holds a one-game lead over George Fox (16-6). Linfield is 24-10, 13-9.
The teams will complete the four-game set with another doubleheader on Sunday.
Game 1 – Linfield 4, Whitworth 0
McNealy faced only 22 batters and allowed only a two-out walk to Wessel in the top of the first inning. She then retired the next 19 Pirate batters in a row to improve to 16-4 this season. She had 12 strikeouts.
Grace Middelstadt scored on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the first inning for Linfield's first run. Linfield didn't score again until McKenna Spieth scored on a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Spieth added a two-run single in the sixth inning to cap the scoring.
Madi Perez (13-5) pitched well enough to win most starts and went the distance in the circle for Whitworth. She allowed four runs on six hits with four strikeouts and four walks.
Game 2 – Whitworth 8, Linfield 3
Wessel went 2-3 with four RBI's and two runs scored to back the strong pitching effort from Makayla Lefever.
The Pirates quickly signaled that they had bounced back from the no-hitter by scoring four runs in the top of the first. After Chelsey Hayes and Megan John reached base, Wessel homered for the third time this season, giving the Bucs a 3-0 lead. The rally continued and Kayla Batastini drove in Tessa Matthews with an RBI single.
Linfield got two runs back in the bottom of the second on solo home runs by Spieth and Danielle Duman. Duman's home run was her league-leading 12th of the season.
But the Pirates came back with Batastini's RBI double in the third. Hayes added her own RBI double in the fourth to increase the lead back to four runs (6-2).
Whitworth scored its final two runs in the sixth. Wessel's RBI single scored Alyssa Hall and gave her four RBIs for the game. Peyton McMahon followed with a double that drove in Wessel.
Linfield added a final run against Lefever in the bottom of the sixth.
Batastini went 3-4 with two RBIs for the Bucs, while Hayes also had a pair of hits.
Lefever improved to 13-2 by allowing three runs on six hits. She struck out a season-high eight batters and walked only one.
Maddy Dunn (7-5) took the loss in the circle for Linfield. She allowed eight runs (six earned) on ten hits over 5.2 innings pitched.
