SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth softball was shut out twice against Linfield, losing 4-0 and 10-0 in Saturday's conference-opening doubleheader at Marks Field.
The Pirates (4-10, 0-2 NWC) have lost four straight, and they'll finish off their four-game series against the Wildcats (8-0, 2-0 NWC) on Sunday afternoon. Whitworth has lost 14 straight against Linfield, they'll look to snap that skid before the series is up.
Game 1 – Linfield 4, Whitworth 0
Tayah Kelly struck out 10 Whitworth batters in a complete-game shutout, allowing just four hits in her fifth win of the season.
Corinne Vasiloff (2-5) also threw a complete game and allowed four runs on eleven hits while punching out four Linfield batters.
Linfield singled to score all four of their runs, breaking the ice in the first inning with Cydney Hess' double to score Meara Sain. Hess drove in Sain again in the third inning before Claire Seats singled to drive in another. Linfield took a 4-0 lead in the sixth on a Kaili Saathoff bunt to score Sain.
Reagen Ellis accounted for two of the Pirates three total hits, with singles to lead off the fifth and seventh inning. The Pirates left six runners stranded in a scoreless effort.
Game 2 – Linfield 10, Whitworth 0
Tyler McNeley (3-0) pitched the second shut-out of the day for Linfield, striking out three while allowing just three hits across seven innings.
Momi Lyman (2-5) pitched 6.1 innings and allowed seven runs on six hits and four walks. Lyman gave up four in the opening inning but settled down to pitch five scoreless innings before Linfield caught fire again in the seventh.
The Wildcats opened a 4-0 lead in the first inning after Seats doubled and Nelson singled, each hit scoring a pair of runs. Things went quiet after that as Lyman retired 12 straight batters at one point, but the Pirates couldn't capitalize.
Linfield took advantage of some wild pitches and base traffic in the seventh, as they pushed across six runs in the final frame. Reiss McIntyre pitched the final two outs in Lyman's relief but gave up three earned runs.
Haley Montoya led Whitworth with two hits, a leadoff single in the first and a two-out single to center field in the third. Whitworth left five runners on but was limited in its scoring opportunities.
