SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth completed a four-game sweep of NCAA Division II Saint Martin's University, thanks to a dramatic comeback in the opener of Saturday's doubleheader at Merkel Field. The Pirates scored four runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to win 7-6, then rolled to a 16-3 victory in the series finale.
The Bucs improved to 10-5 heading into a Northwest Conference set at Lewis & Clark College next weekend. The Saints fell to 1-18 in a rebuilding year.
Game 1 – Whitworth 7, Saint Martin's 6
The Pirates scored four times in the bottom of the ninth after two were out, highlighted by Aidan Morrison's game-tying three-run double, to rally for a walk off win.
The Saints grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first when Hunter Sasaki doubled in a run and Alex Hartnett added a sacrifice fly. Whitworth tied the game in the bottom half and needed only one hit when Morrison scored on a fielder's choice and Reed Gunnett came home after a double steal.
The Bucs took their first lead in the third on Caleb Gray's RBI single.
Kyle Schabot tied the game in the fourth with a sacrifice fly, then gave the Saints a 4-3 lead in the sixth with an RBI double that drove in Hartnett.
When SMU added two in the top of the ninth thanks in part to a defensive miscue on a sacrifice bunt, it looked like the 6-3 lead would give the Saints their second win of the season.
With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Morrison's double tied the game. Gray was intentionally walked and Ty Komoda followed with a single that loaded the bases. Carson Coffield got the game-winning RBI when he was hit by a pitch.
Morrison finished the game 3-5 with three RBIs and three runs scored. No other Pirate had more than one hit.
Quinton O'Connor started on the mound for the Bucs and allowed four runs on seven hits in six innings. Connor Ashworth (1-0) threw the final three innings and got the win in relief after giving up two runs on four hits.
Jake Schumacher started for SMU and limited the Pirates to three runs on five hits in 6.0 innings. Nikki Scott II (0-3) took the loss in relief while tossing the final 2.2 innings.
Game 2 – Whitworth 16, Saint Martin's 3
Henry Douglass had two doubles and drove in five runs as the Pirates had three big rallies in the seven-inning contest to cruise in the series finale.
Jett Lewallen and Brock Molenda hit home runs for the Bucs.
Whitworth scored six in the third, capped by Molenda's three-run shot, his second of the season, to go up 6-1. Douglas had a three-run double to top off a four-run outburst in the fifth that made the score 10-3.
The Pirates poured on six more runs in the sixth, including a two-run homer by Lewallen in his first at-bat at Whitworth and a two-run double by Douglas, who made his first career start in right field.
Luke Stutesman was the Bucs's starting pitcher and he went four innings, allowing three runs on six hits. Jared Hardie (1-0) got the win with an inning of scoreless relief. Tyler VanCise and Dillon McCardle each pitched a shutout inning.
Blaze Wong started for the Saints and allowed eight runs (six earned) on nine hits in 4.1 innings. Two relievers followed.
