Linn closed the regular season with three consecutive wins last week, capped by an 8-5 victory over Eugene on Friday that secured second place in the Central State 8 Conference for the Lady Wildcats.

Linn finished the regular season 17-9 after also defeating St. Elizabeth 5-4 on Thursday and Pacific 15-3 on Senior Night Monday.

The Lady Wildcats had to come from behind twice against Eugene. Linn trailed 2-0 after the first inning before tying the game in the third on a double by Emma Starke and a single by Paige Senevey. Eugene answered with two runs in the bottom half to regain a 4-2 lead.

Linn pulled even again in the fourth, with Kenzy Hackmann doubling and Anna Peters singling as the Lady Wildcats made it 4-4.

The decisive inning came in the sixth. Peters and Starke singled, Heslie Higginbotham drove in a run on a groundout, and Ava Voss singled as Linn scored four times to take an 8-4 lead.

Hackmann went 3-for-3 with two doubles, while Peters, Starke, and Senevey finished with two hits apiece as Linn collected 12 hits.

Starke earned the win in relief, allowing one earned run on four hits over 4 2/3 innings. She struck out four and walked two.

“Another great win going into districts,” said Coach Jason Dudenhoeffer. “They are a good team, and we came out on top.”

The victory completed Linn’s regular season and conference schedules.

“There were a lot of things going against us in that game, but the girls did a great job of keeping their composure and doing what was needed to get the win,” Dudenhoeffer said.

A day earlier, Linn defeated St. Elizabeth 5-4 behind a complete-game effort from Starke.

St. Elizabeth led 2-0 before Linn tied the game in the fourth. The Lady Wildcats then scored three times in the fifth to move ahead 5-2, with Elli Dudenhoeffer delivering an RBI single before Linn took advantage of an error.

St. Elizabeth scored once in both the sixth and seventh innings, but Starke finished the victory. She allowed just two hits and one earned run over seven innings, striking out three and walking three.

Dudenhoeffer led Linn offensively with two hits and an RBI, while Voss drove in two runs.

“It was a great win over a very good team,” Coach Dudenhoeffer said. “Starke threw a great game. It was good beating a team like that going into districts.”

He also credited the Lady Wildcats with making the most of opportunities when St. Elizabeth gave them an opening.

“We capitalized on a couple of their mistakes,” Dudenhoeffer said.

Linn opened the week by celebrating Senior Night with a 15-3 win over Pacific last Monday.

The Lady Wildcats erupted for seven runs in the first inning and never looked back, finishing with 14 hits.

Hackmann powered the offense, going 4-for-5 with two home runs, five RBIs, and three runs scored. Voss had two hits, including a three-run home run in the first inning, and drove in four runs.

Dudenhoeffer, Higginbotham, and Norah Caldwell also had two hits apiece. Dudenhoeffer scored three times, while Higginbotham and Voss each scored twice.

Peters earned the win in the circle, allowing three runs on nine hits over six innings. She struck out three and walked three.

“It was a good win on Senior Night,” Jason Dudenhoeffer said. “We played pretty well overall. We did a lot of small things right.”