PASCO, Wash. – Top-ranked Linfield turned in a dominating performance Sunday at Columbia Basin College, twice swatting Northwest Conference foe Whitworth in a pair of lopsided games shortened by the eight-run rule.

The Wildcats (4-0, 2-0 NWC) beat the Pirates 13-2 in six innings in the opener, then followed up with a five-inning 10-1 rout in the nightcap.

The statistical totals were eye-popping. Linfield smacked four home runs, had five doubles, drew 15 walks and stole seven bases, all while hitting .404 to Whitworth’s .150. Linfield pitchers struck out 10 batters to Whitworth’s one, and allowed but one extra-base hit in 40 at-bats.

Staci Doucette hit a pair of home runs, Ashley Garcia (Jr., Beaverton, Ore.) drove in six runs, and Karleigh Prestianni (Sr., Grants Pass, Ore.) had four hits in six trips to the plate.

The Pirates dropped to 2-6 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

GAME 1
Doucette, Garcia and Jordan Mixsell took turns hitting home runs, Prestianni went 3-for-3 and with a double and one RBI, and Jaydee Baxter went 2-for-3 with a double.

Lauren Harvey pitched a three-hitter to move to 2-0 for the season. Harvey struck out six batters without conceding a single walk to earn the complete-game victory.

Whitworth starter Riley Fritz took the loss, allowing eight hits over the first four innings. Linfield led 3-0 after two frames and increased its lead to 7-0 after four innings following Doucette’s door-slamming home run.

GAME 2
Run-scoring doubles by Doucette, Garcia and Hayley Watson spurred the Wildcats to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Linfield batted all the way through its batting order during the inning and was just getting warmed up. In the second, the Wildcats cashed in four more runs, taking advantage of a bounty of wild pitches by Fritz. Garcia and Katy Brosig (Jr., Forest Grove, Ore.) each tapped RBI singles in the inning as the ‘Cats stretched their lead to 9-0.

Linfield added an insurance run in the third as Doucette homered to right field.

Garcia finished 3-for-4 at the plate while Doucette was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs and two runs scored.

Karina Paavola (Jr., Kelso, Wash.) fanned four batters and limited the Pirates to three hits in four innings before turning the game over to reliever Shelby VandeBergh (Jr., Beaverton, Ore.).

Whitworth pitchers Fritz, Megan Fisher and Taylor Gilbert gave up 10 hits, eight walks and failed to log a single strikeout.

NEXT: Whitworth and Linfield complete their four-game series Monday starting at 11 a.m. The coming week has Linfield heading to Portland to face Lewis & Clark for a Saturday doubleheader before the ‘Cats return home to battle Pacific Sunday. Both those NWC counters start at noon with live play-by-play webcast coverage starting at 11:50 a.m.