Grant Lucas – Sports editor. The Linfield baseball team began its 2010 season on a positive note at the Arizona Desert Classic in Anthem, Ariz., winning four out of five matchups in dominant and dramatic fashion.
“Talent is not an issue with this team,” senior shortstop and pitcher Kelson Brown said. “We have all the physical pieces to be an unstoppable force, but our strongest quality is the mental part of the game. We work hard, expect to win and fear no one.”
Linfield opened tournament play against the University of La Verne on Feb. 11, and the Leopards wasted little time getting on the scoreboard.
La Verne batters belted 12 hits and nine runs off Wildcat senior pitcher Garrett Dorn in less than four innings of play. After tallying one more score in the top of the ninth, the Leopards held a commanding 10-2 advantage.
Three outs away from a season-opening loss, the ’Cats used pinch hitters to claw their way back into the game. Among the seven hits in the ninth inning were senior Mitch Webb and junior Kevin Coleman, who contributed with two hits each and combined for five RBIs.
Following a game-tying, two-run base hit by Webb, Coleman stepped to the plate and delivered a game-winning single, capping off one of the biggest ninth-inning comebacks in Linfield history.
“After coming back from an eight-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth, we knew anything was possible,” senior first baseman Rhett Fenton said. “It’s not over until that last out is made. I think we fed off of the energy and confidence built in the first game to carry us through the weekend.”
Wildcat sophomore pitcher Spencer Crepeaux earned the victory, allowing only one run and one hit through five and one-third innings of relief.
Linfield met up with Whittier College on Feb. 12, where Wildcat sophomore pitcher Ryan Larson struck out four Poets in seven innings of work en route to his first win of the season.
Brown led the way for the ’Cats, tallying three hits in four at-bats, including a solo home run in the first inning and a fifth-inning double.
Linfield seniors Tyson Smith and Mitch Webb also added three hits apiece as the Wildcats strung together 14 in the contest.
Leading 3-0 after four innings, the Wildcats added three runs in both the fifth and sixth to give it a solid lead and, eventually, a 9-3 win.
Poet sophomore pitcher Ryan Schwenn took the loss, giving up nine hits and six runs in less than five innings of work.
Whittier sophomore first baseman Austin Straus accounted for two of the Poets’ six hits but also struck out twice.
Although Linfield displayed dominance against Whittier, it needed another ninth-inning comeback to overtake Cal Lutheran University on Feb. 13.
The Kingsmen trailed 6-4 after a fifth-inning, two-run homer from Wildcat sophomore outfielder Zach Boskovich, but a two-run seventh, sparked by a leadoff double from senior infielder Paul Hartmann, evened the score.
Cal Lu took the lead in the top of the ninth after a Linfield error allowed the go-ahead run. Senior outfielder Jordan Ott then extended the lead to 8-6 with an RBI single.
Linfield refused to concede in the bottom half of the inning, as Boskovich drew a leadoff walk, which was soon followed by an RBI hit by Tyson Smith.
After a walk to junior third baseman Dustin Smith loaded the bases, Brown recorded his third RBI of the contest — the game-winner.
In the final game of the Classic, the ’Cats utilized an eight-run seventh inning to put away the Occidental College Tigers on Feb. 14.
Larson and Fenton tallied three RBIs each, leading Linfield to its fourth-consecutive victory.
Sophomore pitchers Casey Cameron and Jacob Nolte and freshman lefty Torin Longaker combined for six strikeouts while allowing a mere six hits.
Because of his output at the Classic, Brown was named one of the Northwest Conference’s Student-Athletes of the Week. He hit .471 during the four games, including eight RBIs.
The Wildcats’ winning streak came to a close against Lewis-Clark State University in Lewiston, Idaho, on Feb. 18.
Back-to-back home runs by Warrior juniors Jake Eccles and Gino Casini sparked a four-run eighth inning that gave LC State a four-run lead heading into the final inning.
Senior pitcher Henry Buenrostro entered the game in the ninth frame, shutting Linfield out to give LC State its fourth win of the season.
Boskovich went 2-for-4 in the game, while Fenton and Dustin Smith tallied an RBI each – the only two of the contest.
Linfield continues tournament play against Western Oregon University on Feb. 19.
“Our team is really starting to come together,” senior pitcher Kyle Mosbrucker said. “We have confidence that every player on this team has the ability to get the job done when called upon.”