SPOKANE, Wash. - The 10th-ranked Whitworth baseball team will look to extend its five-game game winning streak with two series this week, traveling to Whitman on Tuesday before hosting Lewis & Clark on Friday and Saturday.
Tuesday's matchup will be a non-conference doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. in Walla Walla, Wash.. The Pirates then host the Pioneers at Merkel Field for a NWC series, beginning with a Friday doubleheader that starts at noon. Check the Whitworth baseball schedule for live links to the action
The Pirates: Whitworth (17-4, 9-3 Northwest Conference) swept Puget Sound in western Washington last weekend, extending its win streak to five games and concluding the weekend with a one-game lead over George Fox in the NWC standings.
Hugh Smith threw eight innings and a three-run third inning helped Whitworth claim the opener, 4-2. The Bucs broke a 3-3 tied with a three-run sixth inning in the nightcap last Saturday. Ryan Kingma tossed seven innings on the mound Sunday and Nate Lamberty went 4-for-4 at the plate to help lead Whitworth to a 5-2 win on Sunday.
Moving Up the Rankings: The Pirates moved up four spots and broke into the top 10, ranked No. 10 in the most recent D3baseball.com poll. Whitworth debuted with its No. 14 ranking during the first regular season poll after not having been ranked, or receiving votes, in the 2016 preseason poll. The Pirates remained ranked at No. 14 for three weeks until moving up to No. 10 this week.
The Pirates have played one top 25 team this season, topping then No. 3 Emory during the second weekend of the season. Currently, no other NWC teams are ranked in the poll.
Stellar Start: The Pirates' 11-0 record to begin the season was the best unbeaten start to a season in program history. Whitworth has displayed the ability to win close games (nine wins by a margin of three runs or fewer) but has also totaled eight wins by a margin of four or more runs. Dating back to last season, Whitworth has won 23 of its last 28 games.
Hot Hitting: Whitworth has scored at least six runs in 14 contests this year, averaging better than seven runs per game with a .299 team batting average and a team on-base percentage of .397. Whitworth ranks 17th in the country with 159 runs scored. Among other notable rankings are the Pirates' 18 home runs (5th) and 51 doubles (10th).
Limiting the Free Passes: The Pirate pitching staff is surrendering just 1.78 walks per nine innings through 21 games, an average ranking 10th nationally. Whitworth pitchers have combined to allow a total of two walks or fewer in 15 games this season. The staff has an ERA of 3.18, the best ERA in the conference. In the past eight games, the pitching staff has combined to allow three runs or fewer in seven of those games.
Resilient Rallies: The Pirates have come from behind to win nine of the 17 wins they have totaled this season, including a stretch of five consecutive come-from-behind wins during the 11-0 start to the season.
Whitman: The Missionaries (9-17, 4-8 NWC) have dropped their past four games after winning four in a row. Whitman was predicted to finish eighth in the preseason coaches' poll.
Whitworth swept Whitman at a conference series Merkel Field earlier this season, posting double-digit run totals in each contest.
Infielder Joe Zimmer is batting .495 and recently posted a torrid hitting streak during which he had 15 consecutive hits (a NWC record and tie for an NCAA all-division record) as part of an 18-22 stretch. Zimmer also leads the team with 33 runs scored and has recorded 23 RBIs. Infielder Adrian Vela (.370 / 25 RBIs / 20 runs) and outfielder Jake Wishart (.302 / 7 RBIs / 23 runs) also help lead the offense.
On the mound, Nick Johnson leads Whitman with 35 innings pitched. He is 2-0 with a team-best 3.60 ERA.
Lewis & Clark: The Pioneers (8-15, 3-9) are playing three games in Arizona during the week before facing Whitworth over the weekend. Lewis & Clark won six of its first 10 games in 2016 but has lost its last six games entering the week.
Lewis & Clark was picked to finish ninth in the NWC by the preseason coaches' poll and lost two All-NWC performers to graduation last season. This season, infielder Bradley Lezak (.274 / 14 RBIs / 14 runs), outfielder Sean Shepherd (.269 / 11 RBIs / 9 runs) and outfielder Ben Beck (.260 / 9 RBIs / 7 runs) have helped lead the offense. The pitching staff is led by Nathan Klein (3-2, 3.39 ERA), who leads the Pioneers with 41 innings pitched.
Whitworth swept the Pioneers during a four-game series in Oregon last season, but the Pioneers topped Whitworth, 4-2, in a non-conference game earlier this season in Oregon.
Coming Up: Whitworth will travel to face Linfield next weekend in Oregon on Saturday, April 2, and Sunday, April 3.
