SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University will try to bounce back from a tough start to Northwest Conference play when the Pirates host NCAA Div. II Saint Martin's University in a non-conference series this weekend at Merkel Field. The teams will play a 9-7 doubleheader on Friday, beginning at 11:00 am, and another 9-7 twin bill on Saturday at 11:00.
Check the Whitworth baseball schedule for live links to his week's games.
The Pirates: Despite the award-winning hitting of Caleb Gray, Whitworth went 1-2 against the Puget Sound Loggers in the NWC-opening series for both teams.
The Bucs dropped the opener 11-5 after UPS scored four in the fifth to start to pull away and four in the ninth to put the game out of reach. Gray homered twice and drove in three of the Pirate runs. Carson Coffield also had a pair of hits, including a home run. AJ Woodward started on the mound for Whitworth and allowed five runs on 10 hits in five innings to suffer his first loss of the season. Seth Mahler and Tyler VanCise followed in relief.
The Pirates bounced back to win Saturday's second game 9-3, thanks to seven RBIs from Gray. He hit a grand slam in Whitworth's five-run third inning. He added a three-run homer in the fifth for a 9-1 lead. Broke Molenda went 2-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Dylan Huntsman had his best pitching performance of the season. He got the win after giving up only one run on six hits in 7.1 innings. Rylen Blair finished up.
Whitworth had to battle back from a 9-0 deficit in the top of the second inning of the series finale on Sunday. The Pirates got to within 9-8 before Puget Sound won 10-8. Gray homered and doubled, driving in three more runs while hitting 3-4. Kevin Corder went 2-3 with two runs scored. Whitworth's comeback was hampered by four double plays. Connor Ashworth threw 7.2 strong innings of relief, allowing two runs on five hits with four strikeouts.
The Opponents: Saint Martin's is 1-14 so far this season. The Saints picked up their first win (10-3) while dropping three of four games to Central Washington at home in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference opening series. SMU can hit the ball with a .292 team batting average. Despite a 149-139 advantage over opponents in overall hits, the Saints have given up 112 runs while scoring only 68.
Senior OF Hunter Sasaki is hitting .478 with a team-leading 22 hits and nine RBIs. Junior Alex Hartnett is batting .422 while leading the team in home runs (3), RBIs (12) and runs scored (10). Junior RHP Blaze Wong is 0-2 with a team-high four starts and team-leading 24.0 innings pitched. His ERA is 5.63 with a team-best 17 strikeouts.
Playing the Long Game: Caleb Gray is not the only Pirate hitting home runs this season. The Pirates rank first in the NWC with 13 home runs. Gray leads the conference, and ranks second in NCAA Division III, with six long balls.
Strength in Numbers: The Pirates have a big 2025 roster packed with 45 players. Twelve freshman and 13 transfers have joined the team, and each one may have an impact this season. Through the first three games of the season, 18 position players have made at least two starts, 16 have at least two hits, 18 have scored at least two runs, and 15 have at least two RBIs. Whitworth's depth with 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 124-138 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 return to NWC action with a three-game set at Lewis & Clark College on March 15-16.
