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Cameron Larson limited George Fox to three runs in five innings in second game of Monday's doubleheader.
No one told the Linfield Wildcats that winning the Northwest Conference championship would be easy. Against George Fox in the regular-season concluding series, the Wildcats had to dig deep to find a way to hold off the surging Bruins, who won three of four games in the four-game set, but couldn’t prevent the Wildcats from claiming their first crown since 2005.
After dropping Monday’s opener to George Fox 4-0, Linfield won the winner-take-all game, assembling a gutsy performance to top their neighborhood rivals 8-3 and clinch the league’s automatic berth to the in the NCAA Division III West Regional.
After George Fox’s win in the opener, the stakes were simple. The winner of the fourth game of the series would be crowned NWC champion outright. Suffering three straight losses in a span of two days, the Wildcats came out like a new ballclub, banging around 11 hits and scoring eight runs. On the mound, Cameron Larson rose to the occasion, holding the Bruins offense scoreless throughout the first five frames.
With Larson firing strikes, Linfield built a 6-0 lead before George Fox would get on the board in the sixth inning. The ‘Cats were off and running in the first inning after Cory Ellis erased any thoughts of a hangover from the first three games with an infield single on the first pitch of the game. After advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ty Stanley, Ellis found his way home after George Fox pitcher Shane Dalgleish overthrew Bailey at third in his attempt to cut down Ellis on a chopper to the pitcher by David Bachofner.
Playing from behind for most of the weekend and holding a 1-0 lead after 2 1/3 innings, the dam at last broke open in the third. With two on and no outs, Linfield found a way to score five times in the inning. Drew Van Cleave doubled down the line, allowing the red-hot Kevin Mills to send a hanging slider over the left-field fence.
Dustin Smith and Shannon Chung tacked on hits to chase Dalgleish from the game. George Fox called on Preston Langeliers to face Jordan Boustead, who greeted the first pitch he saw with a three-run bomb to give Linfield a 6-0 lead.
The Bruins showed life in the sixth inning when the first three runners got hits off of Larson, scoring two runs. Relief specialist Robert Vaughn (Fr., Placerville, Calif.) came on to pitch, limiting the damage to three runs in the frame.
Linfield would get two runs back in the bottom half of the sixth which was more than enough support for Vaughn to slam the door, sealing the game with a double play.
Larson picked up the win in the deciding game, improving his record to 5-4. Boustead led the way, going 2 for 3 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Shannon Chung also had two hits and Mills drove in his two runs with the homer.
After dropping Monday’s opener to George Fox 4-0, Linfield won the winner-take-all game, assembling a gutsy performance to top their neighborhood rivals 8-3 and clinch the league’s automatic berth to the in the NCAA Division III West Regional.
After George Fox’s win in the opener, the stakes were simple. The winner of the fourth game of the series would be crowned NWC champion outright. Suffering three straight losses in a span of two days, the Wildcats came out like a new ballclub, banging around 11 hits and scoring eight runs. On the mound, Cameron Larson rose to the occasion, holding the Bruins offense scoreless throughout the first five frames.
With Larson firing strikes, Linfield built a 6-0 lead before George Fox would get on the board in the sixth inning. The ‘Cats were off and running in the first inning after Cory Ellis erased any thoughts of a hangover from the first three games with an infield single on the first pitch of the game. After advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ty Stanley, Ellis found his way home after George Fox pitcher Shane Dalgleish overthrew Bailey at third in his attempt to cut down Ellis on a chopper to the pitcher by David Bachofner.
Playing from behind for most of the weekend and holding a 1-0 lead after 2 1/3 innings, the dam at last broke open in the third. With two on and no outs, Linfield found a way to score five times in the inning. Drew Van Cleave doubled down the line, allowing the red-hot Kevin Mills to send a hanging slider over the left-field fence.
Dustin Smith and Shannon Chung tacked on hits to chase Dalgleish from the game. George Fox called on Preston Langeliers to face Jordan Boustead, who greeted the first pitch he saw with a three-run bomb to give Linfield a 6-0 lead.
The Bruins showed life in the sixth inning when the first three runners got hits off of Larson, scoring two runs. Relief specialist Robert Vaughn (Fr., Placerville, Calif.) came on to pitch, limiting the damage to three runs in the frame.
Linfield would get two runs back in the bottom half of the sixth which was more than enough support for Vaughn to slam the door, sealing the game with a double play.
Larson picked up the win in the deciding game, improving his record to 5-4. Boustead led the way, going 2 for 3 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Shannon Chung also had two hits and Mills drove in his two runs with the homer.
Permalink | Apr 28, 2008