Wildcat Roundup: Linfield softball undefeated in league

Linfield softball (15-1) unleashed seven home runs during a doubleheader sweep against La Verne Leopards (11-10) at Campus West Field on March 29.

Junior Claire Seats and sophomore Ashlyn Aven each blasted out two homers, pushing the second-ranked Linfield to a 13-6 victory in the opener and 12-3 victory in the five-inning shortened nightcap.

The Wildcats advanced to 16-2, 6-0 after splitting a doubleheader against nationally ranked Redlands in non-conference play.

After a six-game road trip to Southern California, Linfield enters the heart of its conference schedule with a home series against Puget Sound (7-11, 1-7 NWC).

Linfield is in a two-way tie for first place in the NWC with Lewis & Clark also having yet to register a conference loss.

The Wildcats feature five players among the top seven leaders in Northwest Conference batting average with Meara Sain, Brynn Nelson, Claire Seats, Ashlyn Aven and Jacey Leyvas all batting .473 or better.

After registering four home runs last week, Seats leads the NWC with eight and ranks second in hits (33) and runs (27).

On the mound Tyler McNeley continues the dominant start to her career, leading the conference in strikeouts with 65 as a sophomore. She holds a 10-1 record and boasts a 3.19 ERA.

The Wildcats host Puget Sound in a four-game series Saturday and Sunday.

Wildcat baseball is 13-9 overall and 5-4 in the North West Conference after defeating Bushnell 6-5 in non-conference play on Tuesday at Roy Helser Field on the Linfield Campus.

Senior Elijah Maris went 3-for-5 with three RBI and a pair of doubles to help lead Linfield to a 6-4 non-conference victory over Bushnell on Tuesday afternoon at

The Wildcats never gave the lead up after capturing it in the bottom of the first. Sophomore Trent Wainfeld got the Wildcats on the board and tied the score at 1 all after he grounded out to second but allowed Maris to reach home. Freshman Luke Porter singled to center field and earned an RBI as junior Matthew Lewis hit the plate.

The Wildcats travels to Tacoma to play Pacific Lutheran. In order to beat the weather, game one is pushed to Friday at 4 p.m., with a double header on Saturday.

Linfield will host Lewis and Clark in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday.

Wildcats tennis doubles had one of their best performances on March 30 despite missing No. 1 overall player Brooks Lerfald, a sophomore from Eugene who is out due to injury.

With Lerfarld out, the Wildcats rolled out two new doubles teams with success, including the first varsity dual match appearances for No. 3 teammates Wyatt Zagyva and Tommy Gabrielsen.

At the top of the ladder Lerfald’s usual partner Rogue Stone was paired with Alexander Rosenquist. It was the first time the duo had played together in over two calendar years, but despite the time away as teammates they closed out a tight match via tiebreak 7-6 (7-4) against the Loggers’ Will Church and Jason Rowe.

Linfield also saw 2-0 performances from Alexander Rosenquist and Cameron Paulsen, both unbeaten in both doubles and singles play.

Puget Sound won in the end with the 4-3 final score on Sunday visiting Puget Sound, despite Linfield sweeping doubles competition for a second time on the season.

Linfield hosts the Whitworth Pirates (5-11, 5-5) on Saturday, April 5 before the first-place Whitman Blues (12-11, 10-0) come to town the following day. Both matches are slated to begin at 11 a.m.

Eight Linfield swimmers earned College Sports Communicators NCAA Division III Academic All-District honors, hitting the maximum honors a single team is allowed with four men and four women.

Senior Avery Campbell of Olympia, WA took top of the list with her third consecutive selection while Talia Patterson and Kirsti Keppo made the list for the second time.

Caley Haydu makes her first appearance after an impressive sophomore season. Keppo took home the Co-Swimmer of the Meet award after taking the top spot in the 500-yard freestyle and the 1,650-yard freestyle in the NWC Championships. She joined Campbell on the All-NWC first team for the 2024-25 season.

Senior Gavin Smith, of Bremoton, WA also makes his third appearance while Rocco Velie appears for the second time.

Nikola Jelusic and Carson Washburn receive Academic All-District honors for the first time in their careers. Smith, Washburn and Velie were selected to the All-NWC second team for various events.

Keppo was selected to advance to the national ballot voting which will be announced later this month.

Article written with assistance of Linfield Sports Communication.