Wildcat Roundup: Vaughn reaches career win No. 900; baseball continues domination; Vrell sets best in throws
With a 6-4 victory over Northwest Conference rival George Fox University on Sunday, March 9, at Morse Athletic Field, Wildcats’ Head Coach Jackson Vaughn reached a historic milestone, compiling his 900th career win in season No. 25 at Linfield.
Vaughan raised his career coaching record to 900-208-2, including a 550-93 mark in NWC games. He is the fastest to reach the 900-win plateau among active Division III coaches, sharing that distinction with John Tschida of St. Mary’s College (Minn.). His 550 conference wins are the most in league history, and his .812 winning percentage stands third-highest among currently employed Division III head coaches.
In the ’Cats team victory, Ashlyn Aven went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI, leading a 10-hit Linfield barrage. Lexiss Antle added two hits and two RBIs, and McKenna Parmelee smacked her third home run of the season.
Tyler McNeley (4-0) struck out a season-high 11 batters, and though she conceded eight hits and four walks, she limited the Bruins to four runs.
Linfield (6-2, 2-0 NWC) then fell 9-6 in what was a doubleheader on Sunday.
The Wildcats play at home for the first time this weekend with a four-game homestand against the Willamette Bearcats. Action starts Saturday with a doubleheader at noon at Del Smith Stadium before wrapping up Sunday with a twinbill beginning at 11 a.m.
Baseball
Linfield (9-4, 4-2) won its second NWC series on Sunday, downing the Willamette Bearcats (3-6, 2-4), 11-6, after splitting a Saturday doubleheader at Volcanos Stadium in Keizer.
The victory was one week after the ’Cats took two of three games on the road against George Fox.
Offense carried the ’Cats on Sunday, with Jackson Bui and Ely Kennel each driving in three and combining for six of the team’s 18 hits. Junior outfielder Jaxson Kister also went 2-for-4 at the plate, both hits garnering extra bases with a double and a triple.
Right-handed graduate student Casey Struckmeier proved crucial, earning his first win of the season with five innings of one-run ball. He allowed four hits and a walk while striking out two.
After three straight weekends on the road, the ’Cats host their first NWC series at Roy Helser Field beginning on Saturday at noon versus Pacific University.
Womens Lacrosse
Wildcats’ lacrosse (1-3) secured its first win of the season on Sunday, taking down the Puget Sound Loggers (3-2), 15-8, on the road. The victory also broke the ice for first-year head coach Monica Potter.
Senior midfielder Gabby Crist led the team with six goals, while senior attacker Savannah Irwin connected for five.
Linfield outshot the Loggers 29-21 in the match, while Crist and Irwin combined for five goals in the third period, three from Crist and two from Irwin. Alexa Brandt also scored a goal near the end of the third quarter. Meanwhile, the defense was dominant, allowing just one goal over the final 20 minutes.
The ’Cats head back to Tacoma on Saturday to face Pacific Lutheran (1-3).
Track and Field
Wildcat runners and throwers strutted their stuff for the first time at home this season as the Erik Anderson Memorial Icebreaker Invitational saw athletes flood into Maxwell Field on Friday, March 5, and Saturday, March 6.
Among Linfield’s participants were two familiar faces: 2025 McMinnville graduate Mya Budzik and 2025 Amity graduate Kiyan Vrell.
Budzik competed Friday night, running to a time of 43:20.99 in the women’s 10,000-meter race.
Vrell competed in three events, most notably shattering his high school gold medal-winning javelin toss of 185-5 on May 24, 2025, at the PacWest Championships, with a throw of 188-06 on his final attempt on Saturday. He placed fourth.
Somewhere was a smiling Randy Hayes (Amity’s throws coach) as Vrell placed 12th in the hammer with a personal best toss of 138-03. Vrell also placed 16th with the two-kilogram discus with a personal best throw of 125-08.
Wildcat sophomore and Northern Arizona University transfer Hudson Holzhauer scored third place in the hammer in front of Vrell with a mark of 166-8.
Highlighting the list of Linfield performances for the women was Natasha Freimuth, who won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:09.30, edging teammate Lauren Klopcic, who finished in 1:11.49. Freimuth also keyed a winning effort in the 4x100-meter relay, joining Baylie Thompson, Isabella Grutsch and Paige Kasso to easily place first with a top early-season time of 50.62.
Linfield’s men’s and women’s athletes are back in action on Saturday for the Rich Allen Classic in Newberg.
Article written with the assistance of Chase Fisk and Linfield Sports Communication.
Tennis
Linfield women’s tennis was swept 7-0 on Sunday on the road while visiting the Lewis and Clark River Otters.
The shutout was compounded by Linfield’s No. 2 singles entry, Samantha Baltz, retiring due to injury after just four games despite an even start to her match.
The visit to the River Otters’ (7-3, 5-2) L&C Tennis Dome marked the first of six consecutive road matches for the Wildcats (0-10, 0-8), canoeing with more NWC play in a visit to Puget Sound (2-5, 2-9) Saturday at 11 a.m.
On the men’s side, Linfield nearly made a furious comeback thanks to strong mid-ladder play, but fell 4-3 at home to the River Otters.
Despite losing the doubles point, the Wildcats men (3-7, 3-4) got things started with a top-end win from No. 1 duo Brooks Lerfald and Zac Nakajima. The ’Cats had strong singles play throughout the day, but eventually the River Otters (4-7, 4-3) got deciding wins at the top of the singles card, as well as in the day’s final flight.
The men continue a three-match home stand Saturday with hopes of a season sweep over Puget Sound (0-9, 0-7) in McMinnville at 11 a.m., before trying to accomplish the same feat hosting Willamette the next day at the same time.
Golf
McMinnville graduate of 2025 Ainsley Kelley competed as an individual in Linfield’s women’s golf spring season opener, finishing 55th after a two-day total of 218 at the Laughlin Ranch Invite from March 2-3 in Bullhead City, Arizona.
As a team, Linfield placed seventh of 11 teams behind freshman Breleigh Garcia’s two-day total of 180. The Wildcats’ starting five featured four freshmen and one sophomore, leading the team to a two-day total of 734. Embry-Riddle (AZ) captured the team title with a score of 632.
Women’s golf bounces back on Saturday and Sunday at the Willamette Valley Cup in Salem, teeing it up for two rounds at Creekside Golf Club.
For the men, junior Douglas Bailey led the team to an individual and team title at the invite hosted by Ottawa University Arizona, at Laughlin Ranch Golf Club.
Bailey cleared the field with an opening-round 68 (-4) on Monday morning, sinking six birdies, five of which came in an eight-hole stretch on both ends of the turn. Bailey was two-under after nine and stretched to four-under after 13. He rebounded from a bogey on 15 to birdie the par-five 18th hole for a 68, securing a two-stroke lead over the field.
The ’Cats look to roll the momentum into next weekend’s Willamette Valley Cup hosted by the Bearcats at Creekside Golf Club on Saturday and Sunday.
Article written with the assistance of Chase Fisk and Linfield Sports Communication.
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