It was another wild weekend for the Wildcat baseball team who improved their conference record to 27-3 with three wins against Pomona-Pitzer.
The ’Cats blew out Pomona-Pitzer in the first game with a 16-4 win. In the first inning, senior Nick Fischer hit a home run giving the Wildcats a 2-0 lead going into the second inning. Without any response from Pomona-Pitzer, Linfield earned another two runs in the bottom of the third inning with a double to right center by senior Clayton Truex and another RBI by senior Kramer Lindell.
However, it was in the bottom of the fifth and sixth where the Wildcats were truly able to claim their dominance. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Wildcats earned six runs. The first two runs came from senior Nate McClellan with a single to right field. Then, sophomore Eric Lawson contributed an RBI while senior Jake Wylie hit a sacrifice fly putting the ’Cats up 10-0. Likewise the sixth inning was also a six run inning with RBI’s coming from junior Jo Carroll, McClellan, Fischer, and a final home run by Wylie.
But it wasn’t over yet. The Wildcats had another game to complete in their double header against Pomona-Pitzer. To no avail, Linfield earned another win 13-3 against Pomona-Pitzer advancing their overall season record to 26-3.
The first two innings remained stoic for Pomona-Pitzer and Linfield with no runs scored. Nonetheless, in the third inning, Truex hit a double to earn one RBI putting Linfield on the scoreboard 2-1. The ’Cats scored again in the bottom of the fourth with a single down the right field line by senior Kenny Johnson.
With the scoreboard tied 2-2, Linfield entered the sixth inning focused and ready. The ’Cats were able to score five runs in the bottom of the sixth with a sac bunt by Carroll, an RBI by Lawson and Johnson, and two more by Wylie. The seventh inning was very similar with two RBI’s from junior Chance Laboda and three from Wylie. They would finish the match with one more run from a sacrifice fly by Johnson.
In the last match against Pomona-Pitzer, the ’Cats earned a win with a score of 8-4. Five of the eight earned runs came in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI by Lindell, Lawson, John-son and two from Carroll. The next run came in the bottom of the seventh with another RBI from Lindell in a single to center field. Pomona-Pitzer would fire back with a total of four runs, however, they would not be able to outmatch the Wildcats with the last RBI coming from Truex.
With the post-season coming up and the Wildcats on fire from three consecutive wins, there is no doubt that the ’Cats will be contenders for yet another NCAA title.
Casie Gaza/Senior sports reporter
