FOREST GROVE, Ore. — Pacific and Linfield split a softball doubleheader on Friday night under the lights at Sherman/Larkins Stadium, in a battle between two Northwest Conference title contenders.

Pacific won the opener 4-0, while the Wildcats took the nightcap, 2-1. That moves Pacific's record to 15-6-1 overall and to 7-3 in Northwest Conference action. No. 16 nationally ranked Linfield is now 12-7 on the year and 4-4 in league action.

In the first game, the Boxers used one big inning on offense and a shutdown pitching performance from Marissa Reichard to record the win.

Reichard improved to 9-2 on the season with the shutout, giving up only three hits, one walk and she fanned the final batter of the game. She worked out of small jams in the third and fifth innings but seemed to get stronger as the game went on. She shut down the last eight batters she faced.

In the Boxer fifth, Pacific used a two-run single by Ashley Mitchell, a RBI base knock by Kylee Yamamoto, and two Wildcat errors to chase all four of their runs across the plate. Both of Linfield's errors were of the throwing kind. Trisha Snydar and Kaitlynn Donaca also had singles in the inning and scored.

Roberts, Donaca and Mitchell had two hits in the game, as the Boxers had 10 overall.

In the second game, Linfield pitcher Shelby Saylors gave up a first inning run but settled in after that to give her squad a chance at the split.

Roberts tripled in the bottom of the first for the Boxers and scored on Mitchell's sacrifice bunt. But Saylors knuckled down after that, fanning seven Boxers and scattering seven hits. Saylors' defense helped as well as twice they nabbed Pacific speedster Roberts--once trying to steal second and in the fifth when Roberts tried to stretch a double into a triple.

Linfield would score their runs in the second and third innings. Kenzie Schmoll drove in a run with a double in the second and Mikaela Viloria lifted a fly ball to left that scored Paige Smotherman in the third. Pacific pitcher Alyssa Burns retired 13 of the next 15 batters that she faced, but the damage was done and she became the hard luck loser (2-2).

Saylors improved to 5-1 with the victory. Roberts had three of Pacific's seven hits with a single, double and triple. On the day, the senior second baseman went 5-for-8.

These two teams will return the diamond on Saturday, with games three and four of the series. Start time at Sherman/Larkins is 1 p.m..