TACOMA, Washington – Dylan Joyce drove in five runs, and Owen Shellhammer won his third consecutive start as the Puget Sound baseball team split the first Northwest Conference games of the season at home against Linfield Saturday.

Puget Sound 7, Linfield 2

Shellammer allowed just two earned runs through seven innings to improve to 3-0 this season. It was was his longest outing thus far.

The Loggers didn't get their first hit until the fifth inning when Davis Miller dropped a single into right field. The Wildcats attempted to pickoff Davis at first, but the throw from the pitcher sailed to fence. As Davis rounded second base, the throw to third skipped past the third baseman, and Davis came around to score the game's first run.

In the sixth inning, Joyce blasted a three-run home run to the opposite field, increasing the Loggers' lead to 4-0. It was his third home run of the season.

Linfield cut the Loggers' lead to 4-2 in the seventh, but Puget Sound tacked on three more runs in the home half of the inning. Jake Briscoe drew a walk, Jackson Bolitho singled, and Kyle Strash was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

Joyce delivered once again, this time with a two-run single. Jonas Kim was later hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, making it a 7-2 game.

Bolitho scored twice in the game, and so did Strash.

Jackson Dinkel struck out three through two shutout innings out of the bullpen. His final two strikeouts were the last two outs of the game, when Linfield had the bases loaded in the top of the ninth.

Puget Sound 2, Linfield 12

Two Logger errors in the first inning helped Linfield race out to a 9-0 lead. The Wildcats never looked back.

William Gross hit into a fielder's choice that allowed Bolitho to score in the second inning. In the fourth inning, Bolitho scored again on an RBI single by Strash.

The Loggers and Wildcats have one more doubleheader Sunday, March 14, starting at 12 p.m.