SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a 9-2 win over visiting Willamette, giving the Pirates a baseball series victory over the first place Bearcats.

The Pirates improved to 14-4 overall and 5-3 in the Northwest Conference while Willamette fell to 15-4, 8-4.  Whitworth will try to take the momentum into next weekend's conference series at Puget Sound.

After Pirate starting pitcher Quentin O'Connor got out of a jam with runners on second and third in the top of the second, the Bucs got on the board in the bottom half when Henry Zaske led off the inning with a home run to right field.  It was his second of the season.  Later in the same inning, with two outs, Jacob Doughty tripled home a run and then scored on Aaron Clogston's double to center field, giving Whitworth a 3-0 lead.

The Pirates added four more in the third.  With the bases loaded and one out, Spencer Shipman doubled off the right field wall to drive in two runs.  Kevin Corder followed with a triple to left center field that plated two more for a 7-0 advantage. 

Aidan Morrison added a solo homer in the fourth for an 8-0 lead, his fourth of the season.

Willamette finally got to O'Connor in the fifth on an RBI single from Rocco Granucci and a sacrifice fly by Jeff Hoffman.

Elijah Tanner drove in Whitworth's final run with an RBI single that scored Hunter Dryden in the sixth.

O'Connor (2-1) went five innings and allowed two runs on five hits and a pair of walks.  He struck out four Bearcats.  Connor Ashworth threw four scoreless innings of relief, scattering four hits while striking out three.

EJ MGrew took the pitching loss for the Bearcats after giving up seven runs on seven hits and two walks in three innings.  Four players followed in relief for Willamette.

Morrison, Tanner, and Shipman all had two hits apiece for the Pirates.