SPOKANE, Wash. – For the second week in a row, the Whitworth baseball team will take on a red-hot opponent when the Pirates travel to Forest Grove, Oregon to play Pacific University in a three-game Northwest Conference set. Saturday's single game will start at 5:00 pm and Sunday's doubleheader begins at 11:00 am.
Check the Whitworth baseball schedule for live links to his week's games.
Schedule Adjustment: Pacific University requested a schedule adjustment from the traditional Saturday doubleheader for this weekend's series. The reason is that the school is also hosting a track and field meet on Saturday. Because Chuck Bafaro stadium is adjacent to the track, baseball will be played after the meet for the safety of the track and field athletes as foul balls often enter the track area.
The Pirates: Whitworth (14-7 overall, 5-4 NWC) took two of three games against visiting George Fox last weekend.
In the opener the Pirates exploded for 15 runs through the first three innings and cruised to a 21-3 win over the Bruins. Caleb Gray went 3-4 with three RBIs and three runs while hitting his ninth home run of the season. Carson Coffield had a three-run home run, while Dominic Giusti had a pair of two-run singles. AJ Woodward (3-1) settled down after giving up two first inning runs to throw five frames while allowing five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Four Pirates followed in relief, each tossing a single inning.
Whitworth bats went silent in Saturday's second game, a 4-2 loss. Whitworth was held scoreless through seven innings until Gray drilled a two-run home run in the eighth inning to cut the margin in half. He and Kyle Memarian each had two hits in the game. Dylan Huntsman (1-2) took the loss after giving up four runs on six hits in six innings. Connor Ashworth threw three shutout innings of relief.
Pirate bats came alive early again in Sunday's series finale. The Bucs scored nine runs in the first two innings on the way to a 10-4 win. Quentin O'Connor went eight innings on the mound and gave up two runs on only five hits and no walks with five strikeouts. Memarian hit two home runs and had five RBIs. Gray went 3-4 with two runs scored, while Aidan Morrison scored three times.
Getting it done at the plate: Whitworth leads the NWC and ranks among the top 25 in NCAA Division III in several key offensive categories. The Pirates lead the conference in batting average (.319), bases on balls (104), hit by pitch (42 – 22nd in Div. III), hits (221), home runs (26 – 6th in Div. III), on-base percentage (.434), runs (202 – 7th), scoring average (9.6) and slugging percentage (.504 – 25th).
Individually, Caleb Gray leads the NWC in home runs (10 – 2nd in Div. II), slugging percentage (.890 – 11th in Div. III) and total bases (65 – 8th). He is also first in runs batted in (29 – 19th). Austin Paul is first in the NWC in walks per game (19 – 24th in Div. III).
Getting it done on the field: Whitworth is not just lighting it up with the bats. The Pirates lead the NWC and rank third in Division III in fielding percentage (.977). The Bucs also top the conference in double plays turned (16 – 25th in Div. III).
Individually, Quentin O'Connor leads the NWC in fewest walks per nine innings (0.72 – 23rd in Div. III) and in complete games (2 – tied for 5th in Div. III).
The Opponents: Pacific is 5-10 overall and 5-4 in the Northwest Conference, but the Boxers have won five of their last six contests, including a series win over Linfield on March 15-16 and a sweep at Pacific Lutheran on March 22-24. Head coach Brian Billings has Pacific battling for a top finish regularly in the NWC standings. The Boxers come into the weekend with a team batting average of .217 (9th in the NWC), an earned run average of 4.85 (3rd in the NWC) and a fielding percentage of .972 (3rd in the NWC).
Individually, sophomore Trevor Kazahaya leads the team with a .289 batting average with five doubles and five RBIs. Senior Davis Koester is hitting .278 with two triples and six RBIs. Junior LHP Governor Aufranc is 1-3 but is third in the NWC in ERA (3.41) and leads the team in strikeouts (23).
Last season Whitworth lost two of three games at Pacific during the regular season, but the Pirates topped the Boxers 11-10 in 10 innings at the NWC tournament.
Scoring in Bunches: Heading into the 2025 season Whitworth had scored 20 or more runs in a single game only five times since the 2000 season. The Pirates have done it three times this spring. The Bucs scored 23 runs twice in one series at the University of Redlands on Feb. 21 and Feb. 23, then scored 21 against George Fox on March 22.
Strength in Numbers: The Pirates have a big 2025 roster packed with 45 players. Twelve freshman and 13 transfers joined the team, and each one may have an impact this season. Through the first 15 games of the season, 15 position players have made at least four starts, 13 have at least five hits, 16 have scored at least five runs, and 13 have at least five RBIs. Whitworth's depth may be a significant strength throughout the season as impact plays could come from up and down the roster.
The Coach: CJ Perry is now in his eighth season as the Pirates head coach and has a record of 128-138 in his tenure. He's led Whitworth to the NWC Tournament in three of his seven seasons and has a tournament record of 5-6. In 2019, coach Perry was named NWC Coach of the Year after guiding the Pirates to a 19-5 conference record (27-15 overall) and NWC regular season title. Perry is a Spokane native and graduated from Whitworth University in 2012.
Looking ahead: The Pirates will host Willamette University in a three-game NWC series on April 5-6.
