Linfield wrapped up a second consecutive Northwest Conference championship with an 8-2 victory against George Fox. Linfield athletics photo

NEWBERG, Ore. – Nick Fisher (Sr., Lake Oswego, Ore.) homered twice and Clayton Truex (Sr., Kirkland, Wash.) also took a one-hit journey around the bases as top-ranked Linfield wrapped up a second consecutive Northwest Conference championship with an 8-2 victory against its fiercest league rival, George Fox, on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Morse Field.
 
The Wildcats (29-4, 19-2 NWC) gained enough distance from second-place Willamette, which lost to Whitworth 8-6 in Game 3, to claim the conference title outright and earn the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III playoffs. Even should Linfield lose its final three games, finishing 19-5, the best the Bearcats could finish after their four remaining games is 18-6, one game back.
 
Aaron Thomassen (Jr., Seattle, Wash.) pitched five scoreless innings and relinquished command of the mound to Linfield's bullpen in the sixth with the Wildcats holding a sizeable 6-2 advantage. Justin Huckins (Sr., Bend, Ore.) and Cody Walker (Soph., Hood River, Ore.) each pitched 1 2/3 innings, combining for three strikeouts and just one hit, to deny George Fox's 10 to-be-graduates a comeback win on Senior Day.
 
Offensively, the Wildcats scored twice in the third, fourth, sixth and ninth innings, pounding out a season-high 18 hits as five members of the starting lineup enjoyed multiple-hit outings against Bruins starter Tom Zarosinski and reliever Sam Eberhardt.
 
Fisher drove in a team-high three RBIs on a solo and two-run homer as part of a 4-for-5 day, while Truex plated two runs with a fourth-inning home run as one of his three hits. 
 
Matthew Zeller hit 3-for-4 with a two-RBI single, while Josh Rapacz hit 2-for-5 to lead the Bruins (25-10, 15-9 NWC), who are likely to finish second or third in the league and must hope for an at-large berth in the playoffs.
 
Both starting pitchers yielded one hit in both halves of the first and second frames, but neither team scored until Fisher blasted a leadoff round-tripper in the third. Jake Wylie (Sr., Eagle, Idaho) and Kramer Lindell (Sr., West Linn, Ore.) followed up with singles to put a runner in scoring position, and Eric Lawson (Soph., Mill Creek, Wash.) brought Wylie home with a two-out single to right.
 
Corey VanDomelen (Jr., Tigard, Ore.) led off the fourth with a single to left, and scored on Truex' third home run of the season as Linfield doubled its lead.
 
In the sixth, Fisher and Wylie delivered one-out singles and Truex earned a free bag on a hit by pitch to load the bases. Lindell's sacrifice fly plated Fisher, and Jo Carroll (Jr., Bend, Ore.) pushed Wylie across when he punched a single through the left side. Lawson reached on a fielder's choice that drove Zaronsinki from the game, but Eberhardt quickly got out of the jam by coaxing Finn McMichael (Soph., Richland, Wash.) into a groundout to end the inning with Linfield leading 6-0.
 
Likewise, the Bruins got to Linfield's starter in their offensive half of the sixth. Rapacz and Zac Israel supplied back-to-back singles, and Zach Hegelmeyer drew a two-out walk to load the bases. Zeller singled to score both Rapacz and Israel, prompting a pitching change for the Wildcats. New pitcher Huckins walked Derek Blankenship, but rebounded with a strikeout against Danny Clifford to escape the bases-loaded situation.
 
Kenny Johnson (Sr., Federal Way, Wash.) sparked the final scoring inning for Linfield with a leadoff single to center field. Two at-bats later, Fisher smacked his second home run of the afternoon, giving the Wildcats an 8-2 advantage with three defensive outs to go.
 
On the mound, Walker registered four straight outs in the eighth and ninth frames as Linfield moved one victory closer to a fifth 30-win season under seventh-year head coach Scott Brosius.
 
‘CAT SCRATCH: Fisher pushed his season home run total to six round-trippers, tied with George Fox's Derek Dixon for second most among league leaders this year…Linfield's three home runs in a single game were a season high…the Wildcats earned their seventh series victory of the year, with their only two conference losses coming to Willamette and George Fox…the league title is the fourth of the last five years for Linfield...Game 3 started approximately 20 minutes late due to wet weather.
 
AHEAD: Linfield plays its final Northwest Conference series at home against Lewis & Clark. Saturday's doubleheader is set for a noon start, with Sunday's single game beginning at noon following a celebration to honor Linfield's 10 graduating seniors.