NWC Baseball: Linfield Sweeps Bearcats, 9-0 and 6-3

The Bearcats dropped to 13-18 on the season, 6-13 in the NWC.

Stew Davis hit a two-run home run in the second game. Photo: Linfield Athletics

McMINNVILLE - Two sterling pitching performances keyed Linfield’s doubleheader sweep of Willamette on Satruday at Roy Helser Field.

The 9-0 and 6-3 victories improved the Wildcats to 11-6 in Northwest Conference play and moved the team to third in the standings.

Linfield is 16-13 overall and will play Willamette in the third game of the weekend series on Sunday at noon.

GAME 1

Brian Clark had one of Linfield’s best outings of the season, pitching a complete-game shutout to go with 12 strikeouts, four hits and two walks in a 9-0 victory. Clark faced just 30 batters.

He had plenty of help.

Linfield strung together seven consecutive hits after recording the second out in the third inning.

Cory Ellis started it off with a single and a stolen base.

He was driven home for the first run of the game by David Bachofner’s single.

Then Kevin Mills drove in Bachofner with a double.

Stew Davis drove in Mills with a single, advancing to second on an error. Drew Van Cleave singled to score Davis.

The rally continued with Brian Kerr’s single to move Van Cleave to third.

And then Rhett Fentonhit a single to drive in Kerr. The result of the outburst was a 5-0 lead that the Wildcats did not relinquish.

Then in the sixth inning, Ellis hit his second triple of the year, driving in Linfield’s sixth run of the game.

In the seventh, Mills hit a triple to the fence in center field. He was later thrown out at home plate on Davis’ fielder’s choice grounder.

In the eight, Linfield tacked on three more insurance runs. Fenton and Austin Highberger led off with back-to-back singles.

Two outs later, Bachofner walked to load the bases. Mills came to the plate and punched a two-run single into right field.

That sent Willamette starter Tye Sundlee (4-3) from the game. His replacement, Jimmy Meuel, promptly gave up a run-scoring double to Davis to make it 9-0.

Mills was 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Davis, Ellis, Fenton and Van Cleave contributed two hits apiece.

GAME 2

Cameron Larson kept Willamette scoreless into the 17th inning of the doubleheader – at one point retiring 13 straight batters – as the Wildcats swept twinbill.

Larson improved to 6-2, allowing six hits and striking out four before leaving the game after eight innings pitched.

In the eighth inning, the Bearcats finally got to Larson. Kelly Gilmore hit a deep ball to the center field wall for a double and David Tufo hit a home run to left field as Willamette put three runs on the board and cut Linfield’s lead to 5-3.

Linfield got the runs it needed in the fourth and sixth innings. Stew Davis hit a two-run home run to left center to put the Wildcats out in front 2-0 in the fourth inning.

In the sixth inning, Linfield scored three more times. Willamette starter Clint Moran got into trouble early, allowing Ellis to walk and Bachofner and Mills to reach with singles to load the bases with no outs.

A passed ball gave Ellis a chance to score from third and a Moran balk brought in Bachofner. Don Bard hit an RBI single to make it 5-0.

Bard, who was 2-for-4, drove in his second run of the game in the bottom of the eighth to give Linfield a three-run lead.

Matt McCollum came on in the ninth to get the final outs and picked up his third save of the season.

NEXT UP: Linfield concludes its three-game series with Willamette on Sunday at noon.

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