McMINNVILLE, Ore.  Whitman baseball stayed in the hunt for the Northwest Conference postseason tournament until the regular season's final league game, but Monday's 9-1 loss at Linfield College ended the Blues' season one victory shy of the playoffs.

Despite the setback against the Wildcats, Whitman (18-20, 12-12 NWC) followed a trend of improving from season to season -- after posting 11 conference wins and 17 overall in 2017, and winning 8 in the league and 13 overall in 2016.

Linfield (22-14, 16-8) locked itself in as the No. 2 seed for the NWC tournament with Saturday's doubleheader sweep of the Blues.

Monday's soggy outing, rescheduled from a Sunday rain out, was a quiet one for the Whitman bats as five different Cats pitchers held the Blues hitless through eight innings.

A two-out RBI-single to left field by Kyle Reisman in the top of the ninth ruined the no-hitter and plated Tyler Lewis, who had worked the sixth hurler, Liam Herlihy, for a walk with one out.

Linfield had taken advantage of a lead-off walk surrendered by Whitman starter Steven Ainsworth at the start of the second inning. An RBI-double and later an RBI-single provided the Wildcats with an early two-run cushion.

Ainsworth would pitch into the fourth, without allowing another run, before giving way to the first of four relievers who would surrender seven more runs during Linfield's 19-hit attack.

Whitman batters, on the other hand, just could not find any green grass with their contact at the plate.

Joseph Zimmer earned a two-out walk in the first but an infield groundout shut down the opportunity.

Reisman kicked off the fifth with a walk but was cancelled out on the base paths on a fielder's choice.

Brett Williams led off the sixth with a walk but was caught stealing while trying to move up into scoring position.

Zimmer jogged to first at the beginning of the seventh after catching a pitch in the shoulder, advanced to second on a passed ball, but was left stranded.

Not until the ninth did green grass finally fall under a Whitman batted ball.

Lewis walked with one out and moved to second after Lucas Thrun walked with two outs.

That set the table for Reisman who, with two strikes, broke up the combined no-hit bid with a single over the third baseman's head; deep enough for Lewis, running on contact with two outs and Thrun behind him, to race around third and score the Blues' lone run.

Wildcats starter Carter Buuck (7-2) earned the win on a pre-arranged 'staff' day, going 3 1/3 innings and allowing just one walk while fanning four.

Ainsworth (3-5), in his final collegiate game, went 3 2/3s for Whitman in taking the loss, surrendering just the two runs on seven hits and two walks, while striking out one.