Kirkland native Clayton Truex, who was a member of Linfield College’s NCAA Division III National Championship baseball team this spring, was named to the All-Tournament Team after hitting .429 (9-for-21) in five games at the national tournament held recently at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wis.
On the year, Truex, a first baseman, hit a career-high .333 with 17 extra-base hits – including four home runs – and was an honorable mention on the All-Northwest Conference Baseball Team. He registered the fifth-highest batting average for Linfield, drove in 34 runs and was involved in 41 of the Wildcats’ program-record 54 double plays.
Truex graduated from Lake Washington High School in 2009.
Top-ranked Linfield defeated the University of Southern Maine, 4-1, during the championship game to claim the program’s first national title of the NCAA era (and third overall, including two NAIA crowns in 1966 and 1971).
The Wildcats set numerous program records throughout their championship run, including 42 victories. To get to the finals, Linfield first captured the Northwest Conference regular-season title with a 21-3 record before defeating then sixth-ranked Trinity (Texas) in a winner-take-all championship game at the Austin Regional.