SPOKANE, Wash. – Visiting Pacific threw out the potential tying run in the bottom of the tenth inning in the second game and Whitworth dropped both games of a Northwest Conference baseball double header on Saturday at Merkel Field. The Pirates lost the first game 11-5 and dropped game two 7-6 in ten innings.
Whitworth (6-13, 3-5 NWC) will finish the series against Pacific (13-5, 10-2 NWC) on Sunday with a single game beginning at noon.
Game 1- Pacific 11, Whitworth 5
The game featured five lead changes before the Boxers broke away late with five runs in the top of the ninth inning.
Pacific's offense got started in the first inning with an RBI double from CJ Colyer. Whitworth responded in the bottom of the second when Hunter Dryden doubled to left center for two RBIs and a 2-1 lead. Pacific's offense retaliated with a single run each in the third and fourth innings, giving the Boxers a 3-2 lead after four innings.
Elijah Tanner tied the game in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI ground out. Riley Cissne gave Whitworth its first home run of the season in the sixth inning when he homered to right field for two runs and the Bucs led 5-3.
The Boxers punched back with two runs of their own in the seventh inning, tying the game up once again, 5-5. Pacific grabbed a 6-5 lead in the eighth from Ty Yukumoto's solo home run to right center.
The Boxers' offense proved to be dominant as they pushed across five more runs in the final frame, including a two-run single by Matt Gibbs.
Will Clark started on the mound for Pacific, allowing five runs on six hits in the first six innings. Cayden Okada (3-0) got the win in relief for the Boxers, pitching three innings allowing one hit and no runs.
Bucs' starting pitcher Giovanni Costello threw 6.1 innings, allowing five runs while striking out eight. Riley Whelan (1-1) worked in relief allowing one run and three hits in just 0.2 innings. Aidan Smith and Hudson Andrews also made appearances from the bullpen to finish the final two innings.
Game 2 – Pacific 7, Whitworth 6 (10 inn.)
The Pirates scored four runs to come back from a 6-2 deficit, but a two out rally in the bottom of the 10th inning ended with a tag out at the plate.
Whitworth jumped on the board in the first inning after Aaron Clogston doubled down the left field line for an RBI. The Pirates added a run in the fourth inning when Jacob Doughty notched an RBI double.
The Boxers offense was able to cut Whitworth's lead in half in the fifth inning on an RBI single from Yukumoto. Isaac Lovings' two-run home run in the sixth inning and Andrew Thomas' three-run homerun in the seventh gave Pacific a 6-2 lead over the Pirates.
Whitworth's four-run seventh inning stemmed from a RBI double from Austin Paul, followed by a Dawson Warner ground out to second base for a RBI. Aidan Morrison doubled down the right field line to pull the Bucs within a run and then scored on a Henry Zaske sacrifice fly.
Nine innings proved not long enough to determine a winner. It was in the 10th inning that Isaac Lovings recorded his second home run of the game, a solo shot that gave the Boxers the 7-6 lead they needed to beat the Pirates.
Whitworth got a walk and a single in the bottom of the tenth with two outs. Cissne singled to right field, but Dryden was thrown out at the plate to end the game.
Joey Harmon (1-0) got the win for Pacific throwing 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.
Hunter Williams started for Whitworth going 5.2 innings allowing three runs on seven hits. Dylan Bishop (1-3) gave up four runs on five hits in four innings of relief.
