McMINNVILLE, Ore. – It was another busy day at the Linfield softball field as the top-ranked Wildcats defeated the visiting Puget Sound Loggers three times Sunday afternoon.

A day after playing two full games and part of a third, the ‘Cats (27-2, 16-1 NWC) outscored the Loggers (7-21, 5-13 NWC) 7-1 over the first two games and 8-0 in a makeup contest that had been postponed already twice this season.

GAME 1
Defense was the difference in the first outing. Pitching a complete game, Claire Velaski racked up 10 strikeouts and surrendered just four hits while her Logger counterparts walked 10 Wildcat batters and gave up six runs off nine hits.

Offensively, the third and fifth innings were the most productive for Linfield.

Staci Doucette posted her third home run of the weekend, this one a solo shot over the left field fence. Later in the bottom of the third, Ashley Garcia (Jr., Beaverton, Ore.) flied out to center field, but Emily Keagbine reached home to increase Linfield’s lead to 3-0.

The ‘Cats scored twice more in the fifth. Emilee Lepp registered an RBI single in the bottom to score Kayla Hubrich from second and Doucette doubled to left field to bring home Jaydee Baxter.

Puget Sound finally got on the board in the top of the sixth with help from a Linfield defensive miscue. Velaski scooped up a ground ball but made a poor throw to first base while trying to get the third out, allowing Carolyn Moore to score from second.

Doucette was 3-for-3 with 3 RBI and Lepp went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in.

GAME 2
The bats were even quieter in the second half of the doubleheader, as Linfield and Puget Sound combined for just seven hits.

Katy Brosig (Jr., Forest Grove, Ore.) provided the only score of the game with a solo home run, her second of the season, in the bottom of the fourth.

Getting the shutout for the Wildcats was Lauren Harvey, who earned her ninth win of the year after striking out three and allowing only three hits.

Despite the loss, the Loggers’ Auriel Sperberg was solid on the mound, getting five strikeouts in a full six innings of work.

In addition to Brosig, Hubrich, Baxter and Keagbine were the only other Wildcats to register hits.

MAKEUP GAME
The third game, part of a doubleheader that was originally scheduled for March 13 in Tacoma, produced the most runs of the afternoon.

Lepp opened up the scoring in the top of the third with a double to center field that scored two runners. Doucette brought another runner home with a single to right field.

The Wildcats erupted for five runs in the top of the fifth inning. Lepp registered two more RBI with her 18th home run of the season. Baxter, Alex Hartmann and Sami Keim also drove in one run each to increase the lead to 8-0.

Karina Paavola (Jr., Kelso, Wash.) was the star in another dominating performance from the Linfield pitching staff. She fanned 10 batters and gave up three hits on her way to the shutout, the first of her career.

The Loggers threatened to extend the game in the bottom of the fifth and had a runner in scoring position, but Paavola struck out the last batter to end the game early.

Lepp was 2-for-4 with four RBI, Hubrich went 2-for-3 and Karleigh Prestianni (Sr., Grants Pass, Ore.) was 2-for-3.

NEXT: The Wildcats host Lewis & Clark in a makeup doubleheader Thursday evening beginning at 4:30 p.m.