– Photo By Jordan Jacobo/Review staff writer/photographer

Jordan Jacobo

Review staff writer

Precision pitching and explosive batting fueled the Linfield baseball team’s sweep March 8 and 9, as the ‘Cats beat Whitworth University four times during the weekend’s play.

The victories pushed the team to second place in the Northwest Conference with a record of 6-2, 10-3 overall. Linfield is one game behind George Fox University.

“We pitched extremely well over the weekend, but our defense was solid as well,” head coach Scott Brosius said. “It gave us a great chance to win those ballgames.”

A deep rotation of pitchers gave Linfield’s offense a comfortable cushion in each game. The ’Cats earned a near-perfect .56 ERA in the series.

On March 8, Linfield beat the Pirates 8-1 and 6-0. Senior pitcher Brian Clark earned the win in the first contest, throwing seven strikeouts.

The doubleheader on March 9 was just as prolific. Linfield won the two games, 4-0 and 13-1.

“Throwing strikes was the most important thing,” Clark said. “We forced them to try to put the bat on the ball.”

He said the team’s strong performance on offense forced Whitworth to exhaust its pitching staff.

Linfield used relief pitchers for only three innings over the course of four games.

Junior designated hitter Stew Davis led the powerful Linfield offense, batting .444 and knocking in three runs.

Catcher Drew Van Cleave hit .500 with 3 RBIs March 9.

Through the first eight games of conference play, Linfield leads the NWC in several defensive categories.

The ‘Cats have a 2.93 ERA and have allowed a lowly .239 batting average.

Brosius said he is not ready to look at the season-ending series against George Fox University on April 27 and 28, which has the potential to decide the conference champion.

“There are so many games left in the conference, we’re still a long ways away,” he said. “But we’ll be two of the teams still battling it out toward the end of the year.”

Brosius said the ’Cats need to treat every series as an important building block, focusing on improvement and building momentum as the season wears on.

“We need to get most consistent throughout our lineup,” he said. “As a whole, we need to make adjustments to new pitchers a little quicker.”

Clark said the preseason poll that placed Linfield on top the NWC is within reach over the next six series that close out the year.

The ‘Cats next travel to Walla Walla, Wash., on March 15 and 16 for a four-game series against Whitman College.

The doubleheaders begin at noon.

“We have a really good chance as long as everyone continues to focus and stay healthy,” he said. “We’ll be a force to be reckoned with.”