SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth swept visiting Pacific Lutheran in a Northwest Conference baseball doubleheader on Friday afternoon at Merkel Field, winning the opener 5-3 with some late-game heroics, then building a big lead for an 11-7 win in the nightcap.
The Pirates (21-11 overall, 12-8 NWC) and Lutes (12-17, 6-11) will complete the series with a single game on Saturday at noon. Whitworth will recognize its senior class prior to the first pitch.
Game 1 – Whitworth 5, PLU 3
Carson Coffield hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to supply the winning runs for the Pirates and overcome the power of Carson Burke.
Whitworth got on the board in the bottom of the first when Aidan Morrison scored on Caleb Gray's sacrifice fly. The Lutes tied the game in the top of the second on Burke's solo home run.
The Bucs retook the lead in the bottom of the second when Kyle Memarian scored on a squeeze bunt by Kevin Corder. PLU went in front 3-2 in the fourth when Burke drilled a two-run home run.
Spencer Shipman homered to knot the game 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning. It was the first home run allowed this season by PLU starting pitcher Alex Lopez.
The game remained tied 3-3 into the bottom of the eighth. Morrison led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Gray. Coffield followed with his ninth home run of the season to left field.
Seth Mahler (2-1) pitched two innings of scoreless and hitless relief to get the win. AJ Woodward went seven frames as the starter and allowed three runs on five hits with six strikeouts.
Lopez (4-2) allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits in seven innings. He walked Morrison to lead off the eighth before giving way to Kamryn Swartz, who gave up the home run.
Game 2 – Whitworth 11, PLU 7
The Pirates built an 11-1 lead before the Lutes scored six runs in the top of the ninth to trim the final margin.
Whitworth scored first on Memarian's solo home run in the second and added a run in the third on Gray's RBI single. The Bucs broke away with five runs in the fourth. Coffield opened the inning with his second home run of the day. Brock Molenda added a three-run home run later in the inning and Morrison closed the scoring with an RBI single.
PLU got on the board in the sixth with an RBI single by Ethan Keintz, but Whitworth answered in the bottom of the sixth when Austin Paul scored on a wild pitch for an 8-1 lead.
Ty Quiggle hit a two-run double in the eighth and later scored on Mason Burkhardt's first career RBI single.
PLU scored six times in the top of the ninth to make things interesting. Rutger Youch had a three-run home run and Burke added his third of the day.
Dylan Huntsman (3-2) threw seven strong innings to get the win on the mound. He allowed one run on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Luke Stutesman (one run), Evan Williamson (five runs) and Tyler Disch finished up on the mound.
Matthew Sherwood (2-4) started for PLU and allowed seven runs (six earned) on seven hits in 3.2 innings to suffer the loss. Four players followed in relief.
Molenda and Gray were the only two Pirate players with more than one base hit in the game.
