By: Caden Frank
SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth baseball will put its hot start to the test this weekend as they travel to Forest Grove to take on Pacific, the three-time defending NWC champions, in a three-game series.
Check baseball's scheduling page for live links to stats, scores, and streaming services for this weekend's action.
The Pirates: Whitworth (11-1, 2-0 NWC) tied the best start in program history last weekend, taking the first two from Eastern Oregon to reach 11-0 (tying the record set in 2016).
Power and pitching have been the keys to the Pirates' quick turnaround from 2023, and both were on display in the opening games against Eastern Oregon (9-13). Hunter Dryden (4-0) set the tone on Saturday striking out the first five batters on his way to five scoreless innings, extending his streak to 23 to begin the season. Whitworth's offense had just three hits after five innings, but each left the ballpark. Aidan Morrison and Spencer Shipman homered to left center in the third and fourth inning before Jacob Doughty made it 3-0 with a no-doubter to right in the fifth. The Pirates finally broke it open in the sixth with five runs; Aarn Clogston singled to score a pair of runners before Morrison followed that with a two-out single to score three and put Whitworth up 8-0. On Sunday, the Pirates won their 11th straight to open the season as Shipman and Ty Quiggle knocked in runs in the second inning to go up 2-0. Leading 3-2 in the fifth, Kevin Corder drove in a pair of runs with a single before Elijah Tanner's aggressive baserunning forced an errant throw allowing him to score. Henry Zaske drove in another run before the inning ended to make it 7-2. Jack Leary (2-0) got the win throwing 3.2 innings allowing two runs on six hits. The series finale turned into the Joey Freitas show as he homered three times, driving in five RBIs to hand Whitworth its first loss. Freitas hit a solo homer in the second inning before blasting two-run shots in the sixth and ninth inning to help the Mounties run away. Quentin O'Connor (1-1) pitched 5.1 innings for Whitworth and allowed three runs, but the Pirates couldn't manage much offensively against Will Seslar who tossed eight innings for EOU.
Series' Top Performers: Dryden showed out again with five more shutout innings and seven punch outs in his fourth win of the season. Aidan Morrison finished 3-12 at the plate with 4 RBIs and a home run, Ty Quiggle was 3-8 with a pair of RBIs while working six walks, and Spencer Shipman went 3-8 with 2 RBIs and a home run.
Offensively, the Pirates have been prolific. Whitworth leads the conference in runs (109), home runs (16), RBIs (99), total bases (204), slugging percentage (.489), and of course hit by pitch (30). They are second in average (.312), hits (130), and on-base percentage (.415), while having the second-fewest strikeouts. Defensively, Whitworth's .984 fielding percentage leads the conference, as does its 2.91 ERA and 11-1 record.
The Opponent: Pacific (9-2, 0-1 NWC) has been solid in the early going but is looking to get started on its fourth straight regular season title with a conference win this weekend. The Boxers swept doubleheaders against Lewis & Clark and Puget Sound already, but both were counted as non-conference games. In the NWC opener, they fell 12-4 at Linfield before weather postponed the remainder of the series.
Matt Gibbs and Walker Matthews are each batting .429 to lead the Boxers, CJ Colyer has blasted five home runs, driven in 15 RBIs while maintaining a .357 average. On the mound, senior Shane Melrose has thrown 13 innings, allowed three runs, struck out 11 and has a 2.08 ERA. As a team, Pacific leads the conference with a .330 batting average, and a .463 on base percentage. They trail only Whitworth in runs and slugging percentage. The Boxers are coached by Brian Billings who's in his tenth season as head coach of the program, he's currently the longest-tenured coach in the conference.
Dryden's Dominance: The senior ace is building on his own record now. Dryden's 23 scoreless innings to start the season is a Whitworth record, and he's one of two pitchers in all of Division III who's pitched 20+ innings without giving up a run (the other is Sayers Collins from East Texas Baptist who's thrown 27 scoreless innings). Dryden leads the NWC in ERA (0.00), opposing batting average (.135), strikeouts (28) and wins (4). He's second in walks (3), hits allowed (10), and innings pitched (23).
Pirate Power: The home runs have not stopped; Whitworth leads the conference with 16 of them through 12 games. Eight Pirates have homered, five have hit multiple. Spencer Shipman and Aidan Morrison are second and third in the NWC behind Pacific's CJ Colyer who's hit five.
Wear it: Whitworth has been hit by pitch 30 times this season which leads the conference and ranks 13th in the nation. Jacob Doughty, Henry Zaske, and Kevin Corder have all been plunked five times. Pacific is second in the conference with 21, we'll see what happens when the two face off this weekend.
Getting a head start: Fast starts have played a role in Whitworth's early run this season. Whitworth has trailed just twice in 2024, and they've outscored their opponents a combined 22-2 in the first two innings of games this season.
Bucking the Boxer Trend: Whitworth has lost 10 straight against Pacific, and 13 of the last 14. The last time they won a weekend series against the Boxers was 2019 (the year Whitworth won the conference). They've given up 11+ runs in six of the last seven losses to the Boxers. The Pirates will look to snap that streak this weekend in a crucial conference clash.
The Coach: CJ Perry is in his sixth season as the Pirates head baseball coach, he began his tenure in 2018 and was named Northwest Conference Coach of the Year in 2019. Perry is a Spokane native and graduated from Whitworth University in 2012. Perry enters 2024 with a 68-68 record but led the Pirates to a conference title in 2019 with a 19-5 NWC record.
Looking ahead: Whitworth will host Willamette in a three-game series on March 23-24.
