TACOMA, Wash. - In a game that saw a 45 minutes rain delay and
countless other delays to add drying agent, the sixth-ranked
Linfield Wildcats battled past the Puget Sound Loggers, 13-7, in a
Northwest Conference softball game on Thursday afternoon on a muddy
Logger Softball Field in Tacoma, Wash. The second game of the
scheduled doubleheader was cancelled due to the poor field
conditions.
The mist began to settle over the field right around the time of
the first pitch but it didn't bother the visiting Wildcats, who
used a three-run home run by Emily Keagbine to take a 3-0
lead. The game entered the rain delay at about 2:10 p.m. and
it wasn't until 2:55 p.m. that the teams were able to resume
play. In the bottom of the third, the Loggers evened things
up as freshman Aryn Grause (Corvallis, Ore./Crescent Valley) hit a
three-run home run of her own to not only even the game up at 3-3
but break a 23 inning scoreless streak for Puget Sound.
The Loggers took a brief lead in the bottom of the fourth when
Kelsey Scanlan (La Center, Wash./Clark CC) doubled in Megan Janes
(Littleton, Colo./Arapahoe). The 'Cats retook the lead in the
top of the fifth on a pair of unearned runs following a single by
Emilee Lepp. Not ready to give up, the Loggers answered back
again in the bottom of the inning as Anthea Aasen (University
Place, Wash./Wilson) doubled in Grause.
Six turned out to be the magical number for the sixth-ranked
Wildcats as they used six runs in the top of the sixth to blow the
game wide open. Following two more runs by Linfield in
the top of the seventh, the Loggers used an RBI single by Victoria
Raeburn (Gladstone, Ore.) to plate two more runs to arrive at the
final score of 13-7.
Auriel Sperberg (Spanaway, Wash./Graham-Kapowsin) took the loss
for UPS, allowing 11 runs on 11 hits in six innings pitched.
Claire Velaski picked up the win for Linfield, allowing three runs
on four hits in three innings of relief.
The Loggers will be back in action on Saturday when they play
host to Whitworth in a NWC doubleheader. First pitch with the
Pirates is set for 1:00 p.m.
Box
Score
