Hey ’Cats. I know what many of you are expecting out of this week’s column, but I’m going to disappoint you if you’re looking for a continuation of the hub-bub over last week’s article. I’ve decided, in the words of Paul, John, Ringo and George, to “Let it Be” and get back to basics this week.

There have been some exciting new developments this week in the Linfield sports realm and some sports have just concluded their seasons and deserve mentions here as well.

The women’s lacrosse team wrapped up the 2011 season this week with a tough 19-8 loss at home against Pacific. The game looked close early, with Pacific up 2-1, but a 13-goal explosion put the contest out of reach thereafter.

Speaking of lacrosse, I’ve noticed that interest in forming a men’s LAX team has been on the uptick recently, at least, if the guys who keep meeting over on the field across from the quad with lacrosse sticks are any indication. Another sports program here at Linfield is never a bad thing so those of you that are interested should drop by Riley and see about getting some info.

The softball team continued its steamroller-like run through the regular season last week by belting a whopping six homeruns in a game against Puget Sound this week, raising their season total to 80 homeruns. To put this in perspective, not only is this a Linfield and NCAA Division-III record, but the team still has 13 games left to play in the regular season to better its record, let alone make the playoffs. Wowza.

Junior Emilee Lepp hit her 24th homer of the season, tying her for the most in a single season in D-III history. At this point, outside of setting the top mark in other individual and team areas, there’s really little left for this team to do but keep marching toward the playoffs; it’s looking mighty likely that Linfield may witness the coronation of its first national champion since 2007.

Both men’s and women’s golf teams competed well during the Northwest Conference Spring Classic earlier this month. The annual tournament brought together every golf team in the NWC, and the women finished third while the men shaved off 19 strokes on the final day to capture the tournament title. The men’s team is on a heater this season, also winning the Pacific Lutheran Invitational and placing second at the Puget Sound Invitational as well. The NWC championship takes place on April 22-23, and if the NWC invite final score is any indication, we can look for the men’s team to make a run at capturing the conference title.

Last, but certainly not least, Linfield football landed a whopper of a recruit on April 5 in the form of Truckee High School quarterback Ben Bolton. During the past two seasons Bolton led his team to a 24-0 record and back-to-back state championships. Quoted online in an article from the Sierra Sun, Bolton’s local newspaper, head football coach Joseph Smith said he was impressed with Bolton’s arm strength, frame (he’s a tough 6’4” and 205 lbs.) and ability to escape pressure and move out of the pocket, the last of which being a necessity for head coach Joe Smith’s tricky signal-calling spread offense. Smith also said in the article that he sees Bolton competing with the other half-dozen quarterbacks committed to or currently on the roster.

The heir-apparent to the offensive helm looks to be sophomore Mickey Inns, who has seen mop-up action in his first two seasons and was also one of only a few underclassmen to be on the sidelines in uniform during the playoffs. Smith has stated the position is wide open and will certainly be a battle.

On the alumni circuit, I’ve been loosely keeping tabs on former quarterback Aaron Boehme as he begins his professional career on the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns of the German Football League. Boehme got the start in the Unicorns’ first and only preseason game against the Franken Knights and brought home a 33-23 victory. According to the former Wildcat blog, “Dude’s Days in Deutschland,” it was a solid game but both offense and defense had their issues. Specifically, Boehme threw for two touchdowns and ran in another, although his blog post indicates he didn’t complete as many passes as he’d have liked. I’d get some more specific numbers to put here, but tracking down box scores is a little tough when the team’s website is
entirely in German…

That’s all for this week, folks. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a chess club and math team meeting to attend in Ford Hall. You know, the ones that all theatre majors go to. You stay classy, Linfield, and I’ll see you next week.

Chris Forrer/For the Review
Chris Forrer can be reached at [email protected].