Softball surges to 4-0 NWC start

The Wildcats break a huddle between innings during their 17-2 victory against the Lewis & Clark College Pioneers on March 7. Following the win, Linfield beat Lewis & Clark in the second game 5-2 to give the ’Cats a 4-0 Northwest Conference record.- Duc Hoang/Freelancer

After one weekend of play, four softball teams have established a stronghold on the Northwest Conference, including Linfield.
The Wildcats won a doubleheader against George Fox University 9-0 and 5-2 March 6.
Pitchers sophomore Lauren Harvey and senior Samantha Van Noy struck out five and held the Bruin bats to four hits and one run.
Junior left fielder Kayla Hubrich singled twice and scored both times on sacrifices by juniors second baseman Alex Hartmann and third baseman Emily Keagbine.
The last run of the 3-1 win came as sophomore center fielder Jaydee Baxter singled and drove in sophomore catcher Emilee Lepp.
“As long as our defense is strong, we’ll always have a chance to win games,” Keagbine said. “I think that’s what’s going to help us a lot.”
The second game of the doubleheader showed the Wildcats’ pitching and hitting prowess.
After three scoreless innings, freshman first baseman Karleigh Prestianni broke the tie with a two-run homerun.
With the bases loaded in the fifth, sophomore shortstop Stacie Doucette drew a walk, forcing Hubrich to score. Keagbine followed with a grand slam. She added an RBI double the next inning to secure a 9-0 win.
“We were struggling, and Karleigh gets a hit, someone else gets a hit, and everyone just feeds off each other,” Keagbine said. “It’s really nice to have everyone there for you.”
Linfield pitchers sophomore Brittany Woods and junior Claire Velaski worked together for a six-inning no-hitter. Woods struck out three in four innings while Velaski fanned one in two frames.
The team returned home the next day for a twin bill against Lewis & Clark College.
Fans in attendance enjoyed the full force of Linfield’s offense. The Wildcats put up 17 runs against the Pioneers and went through the line up twice in the first two innings.
Doucette set a single-game Linfield record for runs batted in with eight. She had a grand slam, a three-run home run and an RBI single.
She said she doesn’t remember having a game as good as that in all her years of softball. She credited her teammates, though, on being in the right places to help her out.
“I had the opportunity with a lot of people getting on base, and that really helped,” she said. “It was definitely a lot of fun.”
Linfield also got home runs from Keagbine and Lepp in the 17-2 win.
Despite three errors in the second game, the Wildcats benefited from another home run from Doucette, on the way to winning 5-2. Lepp provided half of the team’s six hits, going 3-3, including a triple and a double.
Velaski and Harvey combined for eight strikeouts and three hits.
Keagbine ended the weekend with nine RBIs. Her batting average is an astounding .563. Doucette added 10 RBIs during the weekend and is batting .389. Seven of nine players with at least 10 at bats are hitting higher than .300.
“It’s going to be scary when all nine people in our lineup are getting on base,” Doucette said. “We’re pretty happy with how things are going right now, but there’s definitely stuff that we can still work on.”
Linfield (6-0 overall, 4-0 NWC) is now ranked No. 15 in Division III by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. The team will be on the road March 13 and 14 for two doubleheaders against 0-4 Whitworth University.