By: Caden Frank
SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth baseball is back in the conference tournament after its best regular season since 2019. The Pirates enter the tournament as the No. 3-seed, and they'll kick things off on Friday at 3:30 against Willamette.
Check the scheduling page for live links to scores, stats, and streaming services. Tickets are available on the Northwest Conference website, prices range from $3 for children and seniors, $6 for adults, students from participating schools with a valid ID get in free. Tickets can be purchased using this link: Tickets - Northwest Conference (nwcsports.com)
The Pirates: Whitworth (26-12, 14-10 NWC) clinched its spot with a pair of wins in Newberg against George Fox on Sunday winning game one 13-5 before closing the series with a 5-2 win. Whitworth emerged from a scramble of teams in the middle of the NWC looking for the third and fourth spot, they did so by winning five of six over Linfield and George Fox down the stretch.
The Pirates opened last weekend in need of a win to clinch the postseason, and game one on Saturday was a major setback as they fell 1-0 despite eight innings of brilliance from Hunter Dryden. The senior dealt eight innings allowing just one run on eight hits and striking out six, but Whitworth couldn't match the Bruins' one run on a second-inning RBI. But the Pirates turned a corner Sunday, as they often do, jumping on George Fox with four in the first frame of game two and taking an 8-3 lead after four. Freshman Ty Quiggle led the offense with a 4-6 hitting day and three RBIs, Elijah Tanner and Henry Zaske also added three hits as Whitworth cruised to a 13-8 win. Despite clinching the postseason already, the Pirates finished off the series strong. Connor Ashworth (2-0) pitched six innings and allowed just a pair of runs, and Reed Gunnett separated Whitworth in the seventh with a two-RBI single to balloon the lead to 5-2.
Whitworth's NWC Tournament History: The Pirates will be making their sixth appearance in the NWC tournament (which began in 2015), and their first since 2021. Whitworth is 9-8 all-time in the tournament, they won it all in 2015 and placed second in 2016 and 2019 (both years they hosted). The Pirates last appearance in 2021 happened after fourth-seeded Whitman was unable to make an appearance due to a COVID outbreak, so the fifth-place Pirates took their spot. They are back in the top four now for the first time since 2019, looking to qualify for the Division III NCAA tournament.
Meet the Teams: The Whitman Blues (25-15, 16-8 NWC) are back in the tournament for the second straight season, but it's their first regular season title since 1952 and they're looking to defend home turf as the tournament host and top seed this weekend. Whitman is batting .261 with a .457 slugging percentage, a .385 on-base percentage, and they average 6.67 runs per game. On the mound, they're staff has a .461 ERA and a .236 opposing average, they've given up 5.22 runs per game. The Blues have four batters above .300, but Jack Bickerton is among the most dangerous- Bickerton has a 1.057 OPS, .647 slugging percentage, 12 home runs and 36 RBIs (including eight in one game versus Whitworth this season). The Pirates are 1-2 against Whitman this season.
The Willamette Bearcats (25-13, 15-9 NWC) led the standings for much of the early season before Whitman overtook them. The Bearcats are in the tournament for the second season in a row, and they won it all in 2018. Willamette's offense is explosive top to bottom; they boast a .304 average, .469 slugging percentage and a .413 on base percentage, and they average 8.18 runs per game (all lead the NWC). On the mound, their staff posted a 4.24 ERA allowing a .264 average and 5.2 runs per game (Layton Wagner is the Bearcats ace, he's got a 3.91 ERA). Tassos Foster leads the 'Cats with a .353 average, Jeff Hoffman leads the lineup with 39 RBIs and 11 home runs. The Pirates are 2-1 against Willamette this season.
The fourth-seeded Pacific Boxers (25-14, 13-11 NWC) hold the longest streak for consecutive tournament appearances, making their fifth straight appearance. Pacific has been the host the last three seasons and won it in 2021 and 2022, they were runner-up in the 2023 tournament. This year, they clinched the final spot thanks to a 13th inning win over Lewis & Clark in the season finale. Offensively, Pacific is batting .288 with a .429 slugging percentage, a .409 on-base percentage, averaging 8.0 runs per game. On the mound, the Boxers' staff has a 5.50 ERA allowing a .249 opponent average and giving up 6.17 runs per game. Individually, the Boxers lineup boasts one of the conference's top hitters in CJ Colyer who's batting .354 with an .816 slugging percentage, 20 home runs and 47 RBIs in 2024. Colyer has also made his presence felt on the mound at times, leading the team with a 3.43 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 39.1 innings pitched. Whitworth is 1-2 against Pacific this season.
The Power of an early lead: The Pirates started hot in both of Sunday's games after a lackluster showing in Saturday's opener. Whitworth has been a team that thrives off a fast start all season; and they'll hope to do so in Friday's semifinal. The Pirates have outscored opponents 108-62 in the first three innings of games this season, they're 23-2 when leading or tied after three innings and 3-10 on the other hand when trailing after three.
The Coach: CJ Perry has wrapped up his sixth regular season as the Pirates head coach, and now has a record of 94-80 in his tenure (including 3-5 in conference tournament games). Perry is a Spokane native and graduated from Whitworth University in 2012. He's led Whitworth back to the tournament for the third time in six years and will look to win the tourney for the first time in his career this weekend.
Looking ahead: The tournament champion will get an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III regional tournament. The Pirates last appeared there in 2015.
