Wildcats catch NWC top spot

After a four-game trip to Spokane, Wash., and a 10-game swing in California, the softball team returned to McMinnville to sweep two Northwest Conference opponents. The wins put the team’s conference record at 11-1, which places it atop the NWC and one game ahead of No. 17 Willamette University.

Before heading to the Golden State, the team recorded three wins out of four games against Whitworth University on March 14 and 15.
Despite losing the first game of the series 2-1, the team bounced back with wins of 10-8, 10-1 and 6-2.
“We’ve been a little bit up and down offensively,” head coach Jackson Vaughan said. “We haven’t peaked yet, which in some ways is a good thing.”
During the matches, freshman first baseman Karleigh Prestianni totaled eight hits and four runs batted in. Sophomore shortstop Stacie Doucette accounted for seven hits and five RBIs, while junior third baseman Emily Keagbine racked up four hits and seven RBI, including a two-homer, six RBI game.
The ’Cats then hit the road for 10 games in six days, starting with a split against California Lutheran University. The ’Cats won the first 4-2 but fell 3-5 in the second. Doucette and sophomore catcher Emilee Lepp each had three RBIs in both games.
Matching up against the No. 18-ranked Claremont Mudd-Scripps, the Wildcats were defeated twice, 3-7 and 2-3.
For a team with occasionally inconsistent hitting, a team batting average of .351 is impressive.
“To not be hitting well and still be hitting above .350 as a team is impressive,” Vaughan said. “There’s not a lot to complain about if you’re hitting .351 as a team most of the time.”
Doucette agreed, saying hitting is never a constant.
Along with a trip to Disneyland, the team went on to win five of its six games.
In 7-4 and 10-2 wins against the University of Redlands, Doucette hit two home runs — as did Prestianni and sophomore catcher Sami Keim. Both games featured Linfield pitchers, sophomore Lauren Harvey and junior Claire Velaski, who each recorded a complete game.
“The highlight of the Spring Break trip was Redlands,” Vaughan said. “They’re a perennial playoff team and coming off two losses to Claremont, the kids responded well.”
Linfield went on to win both of its games at the Sun West Tournament, a yearly event held in Orange, Calif., that hosts schools during Spring Break.
On the way to beating Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota 6-0 and Chapman University 5-0, Harvey and Velaski both pitched all seven innings, while both posted complete games, allowing only four hits.
“Our whole pitching staff has done a good job of keeping us in games,” Doucette said. “If they can keep the games close, usually we’re going to be fine.”
Vaughan said that Harvey and Velaski have solidified themselves as the top starters, with senior Samantha Van Noy and sophomore Brittany Woods stepping in when needed.
The trip ended on a mixed note, an 8-12 loss and a 16-3 win over Whittier College.
A five-run first inning for the Poets led to the Wildcats’ fifth loss of the season.
The last game of the California tour was spurred by a 10-run, seven-error second inning. Prestianni, Doucette and Keagbine each hit two home runs in the doubleheader.
Back in the Northwest, Linfield, 7-1 in the NWC, faced against NWC undefeated Pacific Lutheran University in a vital conference showdown that Linfield won 10-2.
Scoreless through four and a half innings, the Wildcat bats exploded for seven runs, capped off by a three-run home run by Keagbine.
In the second inning of the second game, Keagbine was pegged with a high and inside pitch that broke her jaw.
Showing her resilience to all in attendance, Keagbine eventually brushed herself off, trotted to first and stayed in the game.
“She got her jaw wired shut,” Vaughan said. “She came back in and finished the game, which is one of the more impressive things I’ve seen from a kid, toughness wise.”
Linfield went on to win 4-3 but lost its third baseman for at least the April 2 and 3 games against George Fox University and Lewis & Clark College.
“Emily is a huge part of our team,” Doucette said. “We’re going to miss her, but we can’t really do anything.”
Even without one of its leaders, the ’Cats had little trouble taking two games from the University of Puget Sound, 7-2 and 12-0. Linfield ended the week ranked No. 16 nationally, one spot ahead of Willamette.
Lepp’s two RBIs and sophomore centerfielder Jaydee Baxter’s two runs supported Velaski, who gave up three hits in seven innings.
Linfield jumped all over UPS pitching in game two, scoring nine runs in the first inning, marked by Baxter’s three-run home run and Prestianni’s two-run single. Prestianni went on to hit a two-run home run in the third.
Doucette leads the team with 30 RBIs and is tied with Prestianni with nine home runs. Prestianni has recorded a team-high 33 hits.
Linfield will host George Fox on April 2 before heading to Portland to face Lewis & Clark on April 3.