By: Caden Frank
SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth baseball will be in Portland this weekend for a three-game series against Lewis & Clark on April 20-21.
Check the scheduling page for live coverage of the series including scores, statistics, and streaming options.
The Pirates: Whitworth (20-9, 8-7 NWC) fought through an up-and-down weekend in a rivalry series against Whitman. The Pirates were beaten 10-4 and 14-5 on Saturday in a pair of conference games, before recovering to steal game three 6-5 and win the series finale 16-5 (counted as non-conference).
Whitworth fell behind early in game one thanks to a pair of doubles by Whitman's Beck Maguire, Nick Teng put the game away with a base-clearing double in the fifth to extend the Blues' lead to 9-1 and they held on from there. In game two, it was Jack Bickerton who came up huge for the Blues. After hitting 0-5 in game one on Saturday, Bickerton exploded for two home runs, a double, and eight RBIs in an astonishing 4-6 day at the plate. Whitman coasted to a 14-0 lead after four innings and won 14-5 to take game two. But as they've done more than once this season, the Pirates showed up Sunday and recovered. Maguire belted a two-run shot to give Whitman a 3-0 lead in the second inning, but the Pirates turned it around. Austin Paul and Jacob Doughty each doubled to drive in a pair of runners in a fourth-inning that put Whitworth in front 4-3. The Blues retook the lead on a Korahais two-run blast, but standout freshman Ty Quiggle delivered a tying base hit in the fifth before Doughty crushed a solo home run in the sixth for the 6-5 lead. Hunter Williams and Tyler VanCise ensured the Pirates wouldn't need another run as they slammed the door on Whitman to salvage a conference win in the series. In game four, Aidan Morrison and Spencer Shipman homered in a 13-run second inning that gave the Pirates a 14-0 lead. The Blues used four pitchers to get through two innings, and Whitworth coasted to a 16-5 win in the series finale.
Series Top Performers: Austin Paul hit 6-15 at the plate including a triple and two doubles, Paul drove in three runs and scored four times himself. Spencer Shipman was 5-13 including a double and a home run for 5 RBIs. Aidan Morrison accounted for 7 RBIs on just three hits, but posted a double and a home run. On the mound, Mason Buckhardt pitched 5.1 innings and struck out seven, allowing just two hits and no runs.
Whitworth has been quite balanced this season. Offensively, the Pirates are third in the NWC in average (.287), second in runs (226), third in RBIs (199), and fourth in slugging percentage (.432). On the mound, they're staff is third in ERA (4.55) and fourth in average allowed (.263) while allowing the third fewest walks (105). Defensively, they still boast the best fielding percentage at .976.
Big Picture: With nine games to go, Whitworth currently sits tied for third in the conference. They wrap up the season on the road against L&C, at home against Linfield and on the road against George Fox. The conference will likely be a tight race to the finish— as of now Whitworth is just 2.5 games out of first, but also 3.5 out of last! Whitworth, Pacific, Linfield, George Fox, L&C, and Puget Sound are all within two games of each other heading into the weekend.
The Opponent: Lewis & Clark (15-15-1, 6-9 NWC) has stumbled through the first half of conference play after a surprising NWC tournament title in 2023. The Pioneers are currently seventh in the conference standings, but just two games out of fourth place and a birth in the NWC tournament.
The Pioneers are led by Will Heron who's batting .304 on 34 hits and 29 RBIs, Brandon Gonzaga leads the team with 35 hits but only three have gone for extra bases. Brennan Davis was a big loss for L&C, he was batting .319, an OPS of 1.048, and had accounted for 8 home runs and 27 RBIs in 23 games. On the mound, Owen Eisen (3-4) has been the Pioneers go-to. Eisen has an ERA of 5.23 in 51.2 innings of work, he's struck out 36 and allowed a .268 average. Matt Kosderka is in his sixth season coaching L&C.
Deadly Duo: Morrison and Shipman have been a deadly source of power for the Pirates this season. The two have combined for 33% of Whitworth's extra base hits (44% of home runs), both have a slugging percentage over .560 and an OPS above .955.
The ole' Pirate bounce-back: Whitworth's ability to navigate a day of adversity has served them well this season. The Pirates have lost four of five series openers against NWC opponents (including the first two games in three of those series) but have yet to be swept. Against Pacific, Whitworth blew back-to-back leads of 4+ runs before recovering to win 11-4 on Sunday. They turned a 6-2 loss in the Willamette opener into 6-2 and 9-2 wins to take the series, a 2-1 and 6-2 loss at Puget Sound into a 15-3 Sunday win and followed suit against Whitman dropping two on Saturday before taking both Sunday.
Quiggle breakout: Freshman Ty Quiggle has become a key part of the Pirate lineup. Quiggle is batting a team-leading .349 on 30 hits, he's driven in 20 RBIs and drawn 16 walks to post a .457 on base percentage. He's currently 11th in the conference in average, and tied for tenth in on-base percentage.
The power of the head start: Whitworth fell behind in three of four games this weekend. The Pirates fell into a 7-1 and 14-0 hole on Saturday, a 3-0 hole on Sunday before jumping out to a 14-0 lead after two innings in the series finale. The Pirates have outscored opponents 78-49 in the first three innings of games this season. Whitworth is 17-1 when leading or tied after three innings, they're 3-8 on the other hand when trailing after three.
The Coach: CJ Perry is in his sixth season as the Pirates head coach. He began his tenure in 2018 and was named NWC coach of the year in 2019 after leading the Pirates to a 19-5 conference record and a regular season title. Perry is a Spokane native and graduated from Whitworth University in 2012. He entered 2024 with a 68-68 record as head coach.
Looking ahead: Whitworth will return home for a three-game series against Linfield on April 27-28.
