Pacific's Magical Ride Comes To End In NWC Championship Game
Box ScoreMcMINNVILLE, Ore. – It was a great ride for Pacific softball, but in the end the home run power of Linfield proved too much as the Wildcats hit three longballs to beat the Boxers, 8-0, in six innings to win the Northwest Conference Softball Tournament and end Pacific's season at Del Smith Field.
The Wildcats broke the game open in the third with a pair of home runs and then used a two-run shot to set the foundation for a four-run fourth frame.
In addition to ending the season, the game was the last for Head Coach Tim Hill, who is retiring after 12 years in Forest Grove. After the game, Hill praised his club for an incredible run over the last month that allowed the Boxers to finish second in the NWC.
"I told (the team) that I thought they were winners and in my mind champions. I say that because of how they performed late in the season. They just didn't quit. There were so many games late that they came back from behind in. They didn't win the tournament, but in my mind they are absolutely champions."
With the loss, Pacific finishes their season with an impressive 26-12 record, the eighth season with 20-plus wins in Hill's tenure. Linfield, the NWC regular season champions, earn the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament with a 34-7 record.
Linfield used slick field conditions to their advantage to score three runs in the third inning. With one out, Grace Middelstadt hit a fly ball to left field that dropped between
Kiera Melton (Jr., Pleasanton, Calif.) and a diving and sliding
Becca Moen (Sr., Gresham, Ore.). Middelstadt motored around the bases to register the inside-the-park home run.
After Erin Carson hammered a triple to right center field, Ashley Garcia hammered a two-run homer to straight away center field for a 3-0 Wildcats' lead.
Danielle Duman opened the Linfield fourth when she reached on an error. After Pacific hurler
Allie Sims (Fr., Puyallup, Wash.) coaxed the next two batters into outs, Kenzie Schmoll smashed a two-run shot to left field to make it a 5-0 lead. The next two Linfield batters reached base before Katy Brosig hit a two-run double to left center field.
Reliever
Maddie Collura (Sr., Phoenix, Ariz.) enter the game and continued her mastery of Linfield, allowing just one run on three hits in the final two innings of the game. The one run, though, ended the game as Middelstadt singled to lead off the sixth and scored on Erin Kinney's single as Linfield ended the game on the eight-run rule.
The Pacific offense, meanwhile, was stymied by the pitching of Karina Paavola. Unable to capitalize on hits in each of the first three innings, Paavola managed to keep the Boxers off the bases over the final three innings. She earned her 19th win of the season by allowing three hits and striking out 11.
Sims took the loss for the Boxers, finishing the season at 10-6. She allowed seven runs, six earned, on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
Middelstadt led Linfield offensively, going 4 for 4 with a double, a home run and a RBI. Carson finished with three hits.
Rachel Roberts (So., Oregon City, Ore.),
Ashley Mitchell (So., Redmond, Wash.) and Melton had the Boxers' hits.
BOXER BYTES: This was Pacific's third appearance in the NWC in the four years the conference has played a postseason tournament…This was Pacific's first appearance in the championship game…Hill finishes his Pacific career with a 262-196-1 record and a 288-227-3 mark in 14 years at both Pacific and George Fox. Hill was honored by Linfield following the game…
Rachel Roberts finished leading the Boxers with a .468 batting average and finishes with a Division III best 47 stolen bases.
