PORTLAND, Ore. – Whitworth University scored five late runs to win the opener of its Northwest Conference baseball series at Lewis & Clark 6-3, but the Pirates could not complete a similar comeback in a 6-4 loss in Friday's second game. The Pirates split despite playing without offensive leader Jaxsen Sweum.
Whitworth (8-26 overall, 7-16 NWC) and the Pioneers (20-15, 11-11) will complete their NWC series with a single game on Saturday.
Game One – Whitworth 6, Lewis & Clark 3
The Pirates scored five runs in the seventh and eighth innings to complete a comeback from an early 3-0 deficit.
Blake Tellinghusen put the Pioneers on the board in the second inning with a sacrifice fly to center field. L&C added to its total in the third inning when Zack Kon reached first base on an error that scored both Jack Thomson and Jack Savant for an early 3-0 lead.
The rest of the game was all Whitworth, with the first run coming in the fourth on a Dawson Warner RBI single.
Neither team scored again until the seventh inning when a Brendan Duncan solo home run tightened the Pioneer lead to 3-2. Later in the seventh, Gage Gibson's single tied the game, and an Aidan Morrison single gave the Pirates the lead.
Riley Cissne hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to score Gibson, and Hunter Dryden scored on an error to finish out the scoring.
Gunnar Kuehl (1-0) picked up his first pitching win of the season, allowing only one hit in two relief innings. Hunter Williams picked up his second save of the season, allowing one hit in three relief innings with six strikeouts, extending his shutout streak to 11 innings in a row. Both were stellar in relief of starter Dylan McCardle, who allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits in four innings.
Brayden Nomura (3-2) got his second pitching loss of the season in relief, giving up four runs and four hits in two innings.
Game Two – Lewis & Clark 6, Whitworth 4
The Pirates tried to mount a comeback in the second as well, after trailing 6-2, but could not complete the recovery from an early deficit.
Lewis and Clark jumped to another 3-0 lead in the third inning starting with a Thomson RBI single. Luke Bass followed it up with another RBI single and Dylan Moore hit a sacrifice fly.
Hunter Dryden got the Pirates on the board in the fourth with a single up the middle that scored Aidan Morrison and JJ Fahnlander.
Brennen Davis doubled in the fifth with the bases full of Pioneers to extend the lead to 6-2.
Whitworth rallied in the seventh when Aidan Morrison was walked with the bases loaded to score Riley Cissne. Duncan drove in the final run for the Pirates with a sacrifice fly that scored Yara.
The Pirates had the tying runs on base in the eighth inning, but L&C worked out of the jam to preserve the 6-4 win.
Luke Ritter (4-3) threw six solid innings for L&C, allowing two runs on five hits and four walks with 11 strikeouts. Anthony Clarici picked up his NWC-leading eighth save with three one-hit innings of relief.
Josh Grimes (0-7) allowed three runs on six hits and three walks in three innings for the Pirates. Dylan Owen gave up the other three runs in two innings of relief and Jared Yara finished with three shutout frames.
