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Linfield bats come alive in time for first softball title
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The NCAA News
Familiarity with an opponent is hard to come by on a national level in most Division III championships. A team can only hope it makes the necessary adjustments in time before its run at the finals site concludes.
Linfield was able to do all the fine-tuning by coming through the consolation bracket to defeat Washington U. in St. Louis twice on the way to the 2007 NCAA Division III Softball Championship in Salem, Virginia, May 22.
The Wildcats, who won the first women’s national title in Linfield history, defeated Washington U. in St. Louis, 1-0, in eight innings to avenge an earlier loss to the Bears, then claimed the winner-take-all finale by a 10-2 count.
Both wins came against Washington U. in St. Louis all-America pitcher Laurel Sagartz, who tamed the Wildcats on only five hits in the teams’ first encounter.
The third time, though, was charming for Linfield. They knocked Sagartz from the mound by scoring eight earned runs in the first two innings. The Wildcats hit four home runs against a pitcher who had allowed only nine earned runs all season.
“You cannot throw the same pitcher against us and get by,” Linfield first baseman Amanda Attleberger told The Oregonian newspaper. “There’s no way.”
Attleberger hit two home runs in the deciding game. Left fielder Lisa Smith and shortstop Meredith Brunette added the other homers for Linfield, 45-7.
Sagartz was quick to credit the Wildcats for their hitting.
“They were swinging really hard,” she said. “The difference between today and the other days is that it’s really hard to play defense when the ball goes over the fence.”
Linfield starting pitcher Brittany Miller fared much better in her third appearance against the 35-7 Bears. In the championship game, Miller allowed eight hits and two earned runs in six innings. She walked two and struck out six.
“I definitely didn’t have as good of stuff as I had (May 21),” Miller said. “They hit the ball a little better off me, but I also think that has a little to do with the fact they saw me three days in a row. Just hitting my spots was a big part, especially because my velocity was a little down.”
Linfield players also said the experience of reaching the finals in the 2006 tournament helped their cause this time. Senior catcher Jena Loop said the team was distracted by the ceremony and the gifts, and didn’t play with the same determination as this year.
“It was much more business-like this year,” said Linfield coach Jackson Vaughan. “Our older kids expected to come here and play well.”
Game No. 1
Emory 000 00 — 0 2 2
Linfield 621 2x — 11 14 0
Kathy Gordon and Rachel Bloom; Brittany Miller, Kendra Strahm (5) and Jena Loop. W — Miller; L — Gordon. HR — Loop (L) 2.
Game No. 2
Moravian 001 010 0 — 2 7 1
DePauw 000 202 x — 4 9 1
Kristie Pellicani, Maria DeBonis (6) and Deanna Mangier; Megan Soultz and Rachel Gill. W — Soultz; L — Pellicani.
Game No. 3
Rhode Island Col. 010 00 — 1 2 7
Wis.-Eau Claire 005 22 — 9 11 1
Nicole Riley, Jamie Sacco (5) and Kristyn Alexander; Mallory McKinney and Bekki Kidnie. W — McKinney; L — Riley. HR — Shurgot (RIC).
Game No. 4
Plattsburgh St. 000 00 — 0 0 2
Washington-St. Louis 034 01 — 8 6 1
Stephanie Zweig, Jaclyn Leitze (3) and Melissa Luciano; Laurel Sagartz and Lindsay Cavarra. W —
Sagartz; L — Zweig. HR — Megan Fieser (WS).
Game No. 5
Emory 001 263 0 — 12 13 1
Moravian 010 200 x — 3 7 1
Ashley Tobar and Rachel Blume; Maria DeBonis, Kristie Pellicani (4), Jordan Oplinger (6) and Danielle Carrione. W — Tobar; L — Pellicani. HR — Braverman (E), Fitzgerald (E), Bieniek (M).
Game No. 6
Plattsburgh St. 003 200 5 — 10 12 2
Rhode Island Col. 001 101 0 — 3 7 4
Stephanie Zweig, Jaclyn Leitze (5) and Melissa Luciano; Nicole Riley and Kristyn Alexander. W — Zweig; L — Riley. HR — Lotti (RIC), Taverna (RIC).
Game No. 7
Linfield 102 105 — 9 13 1
DePauw 000 000 — 0 3 3
Brittany Miller and Jena Loop; Megan Soultz and Rachel Gill. W — Miller; L — Soultz.
Game No. 8
Wis.-Eau Claire 000 000 00 — 0 3 2
Washington-St. Louis 000 000 01 —1 6 3
Mallory McKinney and Bekki Kidnie; Laurel Sagartz and Lindsay Cavarra. W — Sagartz; L — Cavarra. HR — Kressel (WS).
Game No. 9
DePauw 000 000 10 — 1 4 4
Plattsburgh St. 000 100 01 — 2 7 0
Megan Soultz and Rachel Gill; Jaclyn Leitze, Stephanie Zweig(8) and Melissa Luciano. W — Zweig; L — Soultz.
Game No. 10
Wis.-Eau Claire 101 001 0 — 3 8 3
Emory 000 100 0 — 1 4 2
Mallory McKinney and Bekki Kidnie; Ashley Tobar, Marion Holland (6) and Rachel Blume. W — McKinney; L — Tobar. HR — Braverman (E).
Game No. 11
Washington-St. Louis 103 200 0 — 6 11 2
Linfield 000 300 0 — 3 5 4
Laurel Sagartz and Lindsay Cavarra; Brittany Miller, Samantha Van Noy (4) and Jena Loop. W — Sagartz; L — Miller. HR — Cavarra (WS).
Game No. 12
Plattsburgh St. 200 300 0 — 5 12 1
Wis.-Eau Claire 000 302 1 — 6 13 2
Stephanie Zweig, Jaclyn Leitze (4) and Melissa Luciano; Bri Sturm, Mallory McKinney (4) and Bekki Kidnie. W — McKinney; L — Leitze. HR — Woo (PS).
Game No. 13
Linfield 087 07 — 22 22 2
Wis.-Eau Claire 140 41 — 10 12 6
Kendra Strahm, Samantha Van Noy (2) and Jena Loop; Mallory McKinney, Bri Sturm (2), Kristi Doucette (5) and Bekki Kidnie. W — Van Noy; L — McKinney. HR — Loop (L), Hancock (L), Janke (WEC).
Game No. 14
Linfield 000 000 01 — 1 8 0
Washington-St. Louis 000 000 00 — 0 2 1
Brittany Miller and Jena Loop; Laurel Sagartz and Lindsay Cavarra. W — Miller; L — Sagartz.
Championship game
Washington-
St. Louis AB R H RBI BB SO PO A
Carter Malouf, dp 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 0
Laura D’Andrea, ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 5 1
Jamie Kressel, 3b 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 1
Lindsay Cavarra, c 2 0 1 1 1 0 2 0
Laurel Sagartz, p/1b 2 0 0 0 1 2 2 0
Amy Vukovich, cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Ashton Hitchcock, lf 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 0
Megan Fieser, 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 2
Karli Stander, rf 3 0 1 0 0 1 2 0
Kaylyn Eash, 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Abby Morgan, p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 27 2 8 2 2 6 15 4
Linfield AB R H RBI BB SO PO A
Stephanie Rice, cf 4 2 2 0 0 0 1 0
Jenny Marshall, 2b 4 2 2 1 0 0 1 0
Meredith Brunette, ss 4 2 4 3 0 0 1 1
Jena Loop, c 4 0 1 2 0 0 7 0
Amanda
Attleberger, 1b 3 2 2 2 0 0 3 0
Erica Hancock, 3b 3 1 1 0 0 0 3 0
Lisa Smith, lf 3 1 2 1 0 1 1 0
Candice Fujino, dp 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Jenessa Peterson, pr 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Rochelle Friend, rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Brittany Miller, p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Totals 30 10 15 9 1 2 18 2
Washington-St. Louis 011 000 — 2 8 0
Linfield 413 002 — 10 15 0
None out, 1 runner LOB when the game ended. LOB — Washington-St. Louis 9; Linfield 6. 2B — Malouf. 3B — Rice. HR — Hitchcock; Brunette; Attleberger 2; Smith. SB — Brunette.
Washington-
St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
Sagartz 2 9 8 8 1 2 15 16
Morgan 3 6 2 2 0 0 15 15
Linfield IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
Miller 6 8 2 2 2 6 27 29
W — Miller; L — Sagartz. WP — Sagartz. Umpires — Diane Cardon, Dani Carson, Marc Bregman. Attendance — 158.
Linfield was able to do all the fine-tuning by coming through the consolation bracket to defeat Washington U. in St. Louis twice on the way to the 2007 NCAA Division III Softball Championship in Salem, Virginia, May 22.
The Wildcats, who won the first women’s national title in Linfield history, defeated Washington U. in St. Louis, 1-0, in eight innings to avenge an earlier loss to the Bears, then claimed the winner-take-all finale by a 10-2 count.
Both wins came against Washington U. in St. Louis all-America pitcher Laurel Sagartz, who tamed the Wildcats on only five hits in the teams’ first encounter.
The third time, though, was charming for Linfield. They knocked Sagartz from the mound by scoring eight earned runs in the first two innings. The Wildcats hit four home runs against a pitcher who had allowed only nine earned runs all season.
“You cannot throw the same pitcher against us and get by,” Linfield first baseman Amanda Attleberger told The Oregonian newspaper. “There’s no way.”
Attleberger hit two home runs in the deciding game. Left fielder Lisa Smith and shortstop Meredith Brunette added the other homers for Linfield, 45-7.
Sagartz was quick to credit the Wildcats for their hitting.
“They were swinging really hard,” she said. “The difference between today and the other days is that it’s really hard to play defense when the ball goes over the fence.”
Linfield starting pitcher Brittany Miller fared much better in her third appearance against the 35-7 Bears. In the championship game, Miller allowed eight hits and two earned runs in six innings. She walked two and struck out six.
“I definitely didn’t have as good of stuff as I had (May 21),” Miller said. “They hit the ball a little better off me, but I also think that has a little to do with the fact they saw me three days in a row. Just hitting my spots was a big part, especially because my velocity was a little down.”
Linfield players also said the experience of reaching the finals in the 2006 tournament helped their cause this time. Senior catcher Jena Loop said the team was distracted by the ceremony and the gifts, and didn’t play with the same determination as this year.
“It was much more business-like this year,” said Linfield coach Jackson Vaughan. “Our older kids expected to come here and play well.”
Game No. 1
Emory 000 00 — 0 2 2
Linfield 621 2x — 11 14 0
Kathy Gordon and Rachel Bloom; Brittany Miller, Kendra Strahm (5) and Jena Loop. W — Miller; L — Gordon. HR — Loop (L) 2.
Game No. 2
Moravian 001 010 0 — 2 7 1
DePauw 000 202 x — 4 9 1
Kristie Pellicani, Maria DeBonis (6) and Deanna Mangier; Megan Soultz and Rachel Gill. W — Soultz; L — Pellicani.
Game No. 3
Rhode Island Col. 010 00 — 1 2 7
Wis.-Eau Claire 005 22 — 9 11 1
Nicole Riley, Jamie Sacco (5) and Kristyn Alexander; Mallory McKinney and Bekki Kidnie. W — McKinney; L — Riley. HR — Shurgot (RIC).
Game No. 4
Plattsburgh St. 000 00 — 0 0 2
Washington-St. Louis 034 01 — 8 6 1
Stephanie Zweig, Jaclyn Leitze (3) and Melissa Luciano; Laurel Sagartz and Lindsay Cavarra. W —
Sagartz; L — Zweig. HR — Megan Fieser (WS).
Game No. 5
Emory 001 263 0 — 12 13 1
Moravian 010 200 x — 3 7 1
Ashley Tobar and Rachel Blume; Maria DeBonis, Kristie Pellicani (4), Jordan Oplinger (6) and Danielle Carrione. W — Tobar; L — Pellicani. HR — Braverman (E), Fitzgerald (E), Bieniek (M).
Game No. 6
Plattsburgh St. 003 200 5 — 10 12 2
Rhode Island Col. 001 101 0 — 3 7 4
Stephanie Zweig, Jaclyn Leitze (5) and Melissa Luciano; Nicole Riley and Kristyn Alexander. W — Zweig; L — Riley. HR — Lotti (RIC), Taverna (RIC).
Game No. 7
Linfield 102 105 — 9 13 1
DePauw 000 000 — 0 3 3
Brittany Miller and Jena Loop; Megan Soultz and Rachel Gill. W — Miller; L — Soultz.
Game No. 8
Wis.-Eau Claire 000 000 00 — 0 3 2
Washington-St. Louis 000 000 01 —1 6 3
Mallory McKinney and Bekki Kidnie; Laurel Sagartz and Lindsay Cavarra. W — Sagartz; L — Cavarra. HR — Kressel (WS).
Game No. 9
DePauw 000 000 10 — 1 4 4
Plattsburgh St. 000 100 01 — 2 7 0
Megan Soultz and Rachel Gill; Jaclyn Leitze, Stephanie Zweig(8) and Melissa Luciano. W — Zweig; L — Soultz.
Game No. 10
Wis.-Eau Claire 101 001 0 — 3 8 3
Emory 000 100 0 — 1 4 2
Mallory McKinney and Bekki Kidnie; Ashley Tobar, Marion Holland (6) and Rachel Blume. W — McKinney; L — Tobar. HR — Braverman (E).
Game No. 11
Washington-St. Louis 103 200 0 — 6 11 2
Linfield 000 300 0 — 3 5 4
Laurel Sagartz and Lindsay Cavarra; Brittany Miller, Samantha Van Noy (4) and Jena Loop. W — Sagartz; L — Miller. HR — Cavarra (WS).
Game No. 12
Plattsburgh St. 200 300 0 — 5 12 1
Wis.-Eau Claire 000 302 1 — 6 13 2
Stephanie Zweig, Jaclyn Leitze (4) and Melissa Luciano; Bri Sturm, Mallory McKinney (4) and Bekki Kidnie. W — McKinney; L — Leitze. HR — Woo (PS).
Game No. 13
Linfield 087 07 — 22 22 2
Wis.-Eau Claire 140 41 — 10 12 6
Kendra Strahm, Samantha Van Noy (2) and Jena Loop; Mallory McKinney, Bri Sturm (2), Kristi Doucette (5) and Bekki Kidnie. W — Van Noy; L — McKinney. HR — Loop (L), Hancock (L), Janke (WEC).
Game No. 14
Linfield 000 000 01 — 1 8 0
Washington-St. Louis 000 000 00 — 0 2 1
Brittany Miller and Jena Loop; Laurel Sagartz and Lindsay Cavarra. W — Miller; L — Sagartz.
Championship game
Washington-
St. Louis AB R H RBI BB SO PO A
Carter Malouf, dp 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 0
Laura D’Andrea, ss 4 0 0 0 0 1 5 1
Jamie Kressel, 3b 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 1
Lindsay Cavarra, c 2 0 1 1 1 0 2 0
Laurel Sagartz, p/1b 2 0 0 0 1 2 2 0
Amy Vukovich, cf 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Ashton Hitchcock, lf 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 0
Megan Fieser, 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 2
Karli Stander, rf 3 0 1 0 0 1 2 0
Kaylyn Eash, 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Abby Morgan, p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 27 2 8 2 2 6 15 4
Linfield AB R H RBI BB SO PO A
Stephanie Rice, cf 4 2 2 0 0 0 1 0
Jenny Marshall, 2b 4 2 2 1 0 0 1 0
Meredith Brunette, ss 4 2 4 3 0 0 1 1
Jena Loop, c 4 0 1 2 0 0 7 0
Amanda
Attleberger, 1b 3 2 2 2 0 0 3 0
Erica Hancock, 3b 3 1 1 0 0 0 3 0
Lisa Smith, lf 3 1 2 1 0 1 1 0
Candice Fujino, dp 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Jenessa Peterson, pr 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
Rochelle Friend, rf 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Brittany Miller, p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Totals 30 10 15 9 1 2 18 2
Washington-St. Louis 011 000 — 2 8 0
Linfield 413 002 — 10 15 0
None out, 1 runner LOB when the game ended. LOB — Washington-St. Louis 9; Linfield 6. 2B — Malouf. 3B — Rice. HR — Hitchcock; Brunette; Attleberger 2; Smith. SB — Brunette.
Washington-
St. Louis IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
Sagartz 2 9 8 8 1 2 15 16
Morgan 3 6 2 2 0 0 15 15
Linfield IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
Miller 6 8 2 2 2 6 27 29
W — Miller; L — Sagartz. WP — Sagartz. Umpires — Diane Cardon, Dani Carson, Marc Bregman. Attendance — 158.
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