The Wildcat baseball team put on a show for the spectators April 27 as they challenged the Lewis and Clark University Pioneers in a 2-0 series.
The first game ended with a 2-0 final score with one run scored in the first inning by a home run by senior catcher Jake Wiley and the second in the bottom of the seventh with RBI from Chance Laboda.
Likewise the second game of the series resulted in a victory for Linfield with seven runs in the bottom of the third inning and one run coming in the bottom of the sixth and eighth. In the bottom of the third inning, the ’Cats offense dominated with a single by senior Nick Fischer for two RBI, an unearned run by senior Nate McClellan, two RBI’s from Wiley, and a home run by senior Clayton Truex for two RBI.
Then, in the bottom of the sixth inning, senior Kenny Johnson hit a single to right field driving in sophomore Eric Lawson. The last and final run of the game came in the bottom of the eighth, with a ground ball to second base by sophomore Kekoa Kaulukukui.
However, the last game was nothing like the first two. The ’Cats dominated the field on April 27 with a 21-1 victory over the Pioneers. The first run for the Wildcats came in the bottom of the second inning on a sacrifice bunt by Lawson.
Nonetheless, it was the third inning that truly changed the scope of the game. In the bottom of the third inning, the ’Cats scored a total of ten runs. The first run came from a Pioneer defensive error. Then, senior Kramer Lindell singled down the left field line for two RBI’s. Shortly after, junior Jo Carroll earned an RBI from a single and Lawson’s single drove in one more run and a defensive error by the Pioneers added one more. With a home run by Fischer, Linfield added four more runs to the scoreboard and thus ended the third inning. But it wasn’t over yet. The ’Cats scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning with an RBI from Fischer and a home run by Wylie. The next inning added one more run with an RBI from McClellan on a single to center field.
The last four runs came in the bottom of the seventh inning with RBI’s from senior Garett Speyer, Kaulukukui, sophomore Finn McMichael and freshman Ryan Pladson. With a sweep victory over Lewis and Clark, there is no question that the ’Cats baseball team is focused on the post season.
“Going into the postseason I think we can begin polishing nearly every aspect and getting all facets of the game to come together,” Lawson said. “When we play a complete game, that is when we are at our best. So we simply have to keep working on bringing it all together and playing the way we know we are capable of.”
It’s an exciting time to be a Wildcat and there’s no doubt that with hard work and practice, they will have the opportunity to succeed this post-season.
Casie Gaza/ Senior Sports reporter
