Box Score SPOKANE, Wash. – Tyler VanCise struck out the side after Whitman had runners on second and third with none out in the top of the ninth to help Whitworth hold on to a 6-5 win over the visiting Blues in a Northwest Conference baseball game on Sunday at Merkel Field.
The Pirates (19-9 overall, 8-7 NWC) salvaged one of the three conference games against first place Whitman (18-10, 12-6), keeping their conference tournament hopes alive. The teams are slated to play a seven-inning non-conference contest this afternoon to complete the weekend.
After taking both halves of Saturday's doubleheader, the Blues appeared on their way to a conference series sweep after jumping to a 3-0 lead in the first two innings. Halen Otte doubled home the first run in the first inning and Beck McGuire drilled a two-run homer in the second.
Whitworth broke through against Whitman starting pitcher Mateus Conaway with a two-out, four-run rally in the fourth. Austin Paul's two-run double got the Bucs within one run. After a walk, Jacob Doughty doubled home Paul and Aaron Clogston for a 4-3 lead.
Whitman retook a 5-4 lead in the fifth on a two-run home run by Nate Korahais, but Whitworth tied it up again in the bottom half of the fifth on Ty Quiggle's RBI single.
Doughty's third home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth was the decisive run.
Relievers Hunter Williams and VanCise made that run stand up. Pirate starter Conner Ashworth went four innings and allowed three runs on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts. Williams pitched the next four frames and gave up only the home run to Korahais in the fifth.
After Williams allowed an infield single to lead off the ninth, VanCise came on and gave up a single up the middle to McGuire that put runners on the corners. McGuire then moved to second on a wild pitch. With no one out and the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, VanCise struck out Jack Bickerton, Brandon Ting and Otte to end the game. All three struck out swinging. Williams got the win to improve to 3-2 while VanCise got his third save.
Conaway went the first 4.1 innings and allowed five runs on six hits and four walks. Russell Petersen (3-2) pitched the final 3.2 innings and gave up only one run, but it was the go-ahead run in the sixth, saddling him with the loss.
Doughty finished the game 2-4 with three RBIs and a run as the Pirates' leadoff hitter. Quiggle also had a pair of hits.
