PORTLAND, Ore. – Clayton Truex (Jr., Kirkland, Wash.) and Cole Bixenman contributed three singles each and Linfield piled up 17 hits en route to a convincing 9-3 Northwest Conference victory over Lewis & Clark Sunday at Huston Sports Complex.

Rated ninth in the most recent d3baseball.com and ABCA/Collegiate Baseball polls, Linfield (21-6, 15-3 NWC) moved a step closer to securing a second straight NWC crown by completing the three-game series sweep of the struggling Pioneers (4-26, 2-16 NWC).

Four Linfield pitchers combined to limit Lewis & Clark to eight hits, including just one hit over the final four innings.

After spotting the Pioneers a 1-0 first-inning lead, the Wildcats asserted themselves, scoring runs in each of the ensuing four innings to build a 6-1 cushion.

The biggest scoring spurt took place in the third inning, when Linfield cashed in run-scoring hits from Truex, Kevin Coleman and Gunnar Cederberg to go in front by three.

Linfield starter Evan Hilberg lasted five innings before turning the game over to relievers Casey Cameron, Spencer Crepeaux and Zach Manley (Sr., Coburg, Ore.). Hilberg picked up the win to improve to 4-1 for the season.

Lewis & Clark got two hits each from Michael Ball and Tucker Laurence.

COMING UP: The Wildcats, winners of 13 of their last 15 contests, step outside the conference for a four-game home series against a nationally ranked opponent Friday-Sunday at Roy Helser Field. The Chapman Panthers (22-5) come to McMinnville riding an eight-game winning streak. Chapman is ranked eighth by d3baseball.com and No. 17 by ABCA. Action starts Friday with a single game at 3 p.m., then continues with a doubleheader Saturday at noon. The four-game set wraps up Sunday with another single game at 1 o'clock.