SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University swept NCAA Division II Saint Martin's University in a non-conference baseball doubleheader on Friday at Merkel Field, taking the opener 16-6 before winning the nightcap 5-2 in a seven-inning contest.
The Pirates improved to 8-5 while the Saints fell to 1-16 amid a rebuilding season. The teams will complete the four-game set with another doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 11:00 am.
Game 1 – Whitworth 16, Saint Martin's 6
AJ Woodward earned his first pitching victory as a Pirate by throwing 8.1 strong innings, while Kyle Memarian and Ty Quiggle each drove in three runs.
The Saints took a 2-0 lead in the first on Alex Hartnett's opposite field home run. Whitworth tied the game in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly by Carson Coffield and a double steal that allowed Caleb Gray to score from third.
SMU took its final lead of the day on a sac fly in the top of the second.
Whitworth scored four times in the bottom of the third. Memarian had an RBI single and Quiggle followed with a two-run double.
Aidan Morrison's double was part of a two-run fourth. Memarian and Quiggle each had RBI singles in the five-run fifth that broke the game wide open and gave the Bucs a 13-3 lead. Kevin Corder hit a two-run home run in the seventh to make it 16-4.
Memarian went 3-5, while Quiggle finished 2-5 at the plate. Gray, Corder and Austin Paul also had a pair of hits for Whitworth.
After allowing three runs in the first two innings, Woodward (1-1) settled down and held the Saints to one run over the next six innings. He finished the game allowing five runs on nine hits in 8.1 innings with five strikeouts and two walks. Nathaniel Kurano got the final two outs while giving up a run on two hits.
Luke Petrie (0-1) started on the mound for SMU, allowing six runs (four earned) on six hits in 3.0 innings. Three relievers followed.
Rylen Miyasaki went 3-4 for the Saints.
Game 2 – Whitworth 5, Saint Martin's 2
Austin Paul's two-run infield single in the bottom of the fifth provided the winning runs in support of the strong relief effort by Seth Mahler.
Once again, the Saints scored in the first inning against Pirate starting pitcher Dylan Huntsman. Hunter Sasaki had an RBI single.
Coffield's two-run single in the bottom of the first put Whitworth ahead 2-1. Gray and Memarian scored.
Cole Yonamine tied the game in the fourth with a solo home run off Huntsman.
Whitworth had a chance to retake the lead in the bottom of the fourth when the Pirates loaded the bases with no outs. SMU reliever Bryson Nakamoto struck out the next three batters to keep the game tied.
Mahler (1-0) prevented the Saints from gaining momentum by dominating the next three frames. He faced nine batters and retired all nine, including four strikeouts, to get his first pitching win of the year.
Paul came to bat in the bottom of the fifth with runners on second and third and two outs. His hard shot up the middle bounced off Young's leg and rolled toward third base, bringing home Yash Gupta. When the ball got past the Saints' third baseman, Quiggle was able to score all the way from second base on an infield single.
Gray added a solo home run in the sixth, his team-leading seventh of the season. He went 2-4, the only Pirate with more than one hit.
Nakamoto (1-2) took the loss for SMU in relief of starter Tyler Young. Each went three innings.
