Willamette to Play Linfield to Open NWC Softball Tournament in McMinnville

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- The softball teams from Willamette University and Linfield University will play each other for the fifth consecutive game when they meet in the first round of the 2024 Northwest Conference Softball Tournament on Friday, May 10 in McMinnville, Oregon. Game time for #4-seeded Willamette against #1-seeded Linfield is scheduled for 4 p.m. PDT. The double-elimination tournament is set to continue at Del Smith Stadium through Sunday, May 12.

Willamette and Linfield played two games in Salem on Sunday, May 5 and met in another doubleheader in McMinnville on Tuesday, May 7. Linfield, ranked #1 in the NFCA Coaches Poll for NCAA Division III, won all four games to end the regular season with an undefeated record, but the Bearcats almost caught the Wildcats in the fourth game. Willamette had the tying run at third and the potential winning run at second when the final out was recorded in the top of the seventh inning, as Linfield held on for a 5-4 win.

This weekend, the second game in the four-team tournament will match Lewis & Clark College, seeded #2, against Pacific Lutheran University, seeded #3, on Friday at 6:30 p.m. PDT. The winners of the first round games will meet in the winners bracket game at 12 p.m. on Saturday, May 11. The losers in the first round games will meet in an elimination game on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Willamette enters the NWC Tournament at 17-21 overall, including 13-15 in the NWC. Linfield is 40-0 on the season and 28-0 in the NWC. Lewis & Clark starts the tournament with a 26-14 overall record, 20-8 in the NWC, while Pacific Lutheran is 23-17 on the season, 18-10 in the NWC.

Key hitters for the Bearcats include two players with more than one at bat per game who are hitting above .300 for the season. They are Emma Elliott (So., OF, Battle Ground, WA/Battle Ground HS) at .350 and Maris Pinheiro (Fy., C/OF, Tulare, CA/Tulare Union HS) at .303. Cora Erickson (Sr., C, Issaquah, WA/Issaquah HS) has batted just 36 times, but owns a .361 batting average.

Elliott leads WU with 36 hits, 29 runs, and 27 RBIs. She ranks first on the team with seven home runs and three triples, and is tied for first with nine doubles.

Other Bearcats among the team's batting average leaders are Mia Rogers (So., 3B/P, Sammamish, WA/Skyline HS) at .299, Desirae Hatfield (Fy., INF, Salem, OR/South Salem HS) at 2.91, and Sophia Lucio (Sr., RF, Martinez, CA/College Park HS) at .286.

Brianna Majors (Grad., SS/2B, San Diego, CA/Cathedral Catholic HS) has batted .269 while topping the Willamette roster with 108 at bats. Majors has earned a .304 career batting average with 516 at bats, 84 runs and 84 RBIs. She has registered a school record 44 doubles, plus five triples, and seven homers, while going 45 of 53 on stolen base attempts.

Kendra Knapp (Grad., RF, Portland, OR/Sunset HS) has matched Elliott nine doubles and is second on the team with three home runs. Majors and Hatfield each have connected for six doubles, while Pineheiro has hit five doubles. Mia Lund (Sr., OF/UT, Omaha, NE/Westside HS) leads Willamette at 18 for 18 on stolen bases.

In her career, Lund has been successful on 71 of 74 stolen bases (95.9%) and has hit 26 doubles, five triples, and eight home runs. She has scored 86 times as a Willamette player and has been credited with 58 career RBIs.

Primary starting pitchers for WU have been Kenna Davis (Jr., P/3B, Alameda, CA/Alameda HS) and Jordyn Johnson (Sr., P, Winslow, AZ/Winslow HS). Davis has achieved an 11-8 record and a 4.47 earned run average. She has thrown 108 innings and has struck out 87 batters. Davis has accumulated 191 strikeouts over the past three seasons. Johnson is 5-9 with a 3.27 earned run average and 77 strikeouts in 87 2/3 innings this spring. She has struck out 203 batters in her career.