SPOKANE, Wash. – The chase for the 2025 Northwest Conference baseball tournament gets serious this week when Whitworth travels to Walla Walla to take on Whitman College in the regular season finale for both schools. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. Each day will start at noon.
Check the Whitworth baseball schedule for live links to his week's games.
The Pirates: Whitworth (23-14 overall, 13-8 NWC) dropped three of four games at NCAA Div. II Central Washington last weekend in Ellensburg, Washington while the rest of the NWC competed around them.
Whitworth lost the opener 7-5 after trailing 7-2 going into the eighth inning. Caleb Gray drove in a pair of runs, while Kyle Memarian was the only Pirate with two hits. AJ Woodward (5-2) took the loss after giving up five runs on seven hits and a walk in three innings. Mason Burkhardt pitched five strong innings of relief, allowing only two runs on five hits.
In Saturday's scheduled seven-inning contest, Central won a see-saw second game 10-9 with a walk-off hit. The Pirates led 3-0, fell behind 7-3, but then took a 9-7 lead into the bottom of the sixth. Brock Molenda went 3 for 3 with four RBIs, including a bases-loaded triple in the top of the sixth. Ty Quiggle finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs. Dylan Huntsman started and allowed six runs on seven hits and two walks in 2.2 innings. Nathaniel Kurano gave up only one run on three hits in 2.1 frames. Seth Mahler (2-2) suffered the loss after CWU scored three runs on six hits in his 1.1 innings.
Whitworth outslugged CWU 17-13 to win Sunday's first game. The Bucs scored seven runs in the top of the eighth to build a 16-9 lead at the time. Gray and Spencer Shipman each hit a home run and finished with three hits and three RBIs. Molenda had another big game, going 4 for 5 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Dominic Giusti led the team with four RBIs. Quentin O'Connor gave up six runs (four earned) on seven hits in three innings. Luke Stutesman (2-2) was the pitcher of record after he threw 4.2 innings with five runs allowed on five hits. Tyler Disch (two runs, four hits) finished up the final 1.1 innings.
The Wildcats won the finale 13-5. Trailing 9-2, the Pirates scored three in the sixth to narrow the gap before CWU put the game out of reach. Reed Gunnett hit a home run, while Austin Paul finished 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run. Rylan Blair got his first start and fell to 1-2 after the Wildcats scored seven runs (six earned) on seven hits in 2.1 innings. Three Pirates followed in relief, each allowing at least one run.
NWC Standings Update: With only one weekend left in the regular season, there are still seven schools with a chance to make it into the four-team tournament field. What has been decided is who will host. Pacific University swept George Fox last weekend and finished its conference schedule 16-8, assuring at least a tie for the NWC championship. The Boxers hold tiebreakers based on head-to-head results with Whitworth and Puget Sound (both 13-8), the only two schools with a chance to catch Pacific.
While the Pirates still have a chance to tie for first place, Whitworth could also finish as low as fifth place if Whitman and Linfield both pull off a sweep this weekend. For the Bucs, one win clinches a spot in the tournament and at least the #3 seed.
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 (.324), home runs (47 – 12th in Div. III), home runs per game (1.27 – 14th), on-base percentage (.421), runs (344 – 21st), scoring average (9.3 – 21st) and slugging percentage (.513 – 17th). They also lead the lead in hits (407) and triples (13).
Individually, Kyle Memarian leads the Northwest Conference in batting average (.405). Caleb Gray leads the conference in hits (54) and total bases (98) and is third in home runs (12). Carson Coffield is second in the conference in runs batted in (47 – 24th in DIII) and fourth in home runs (10). Austin Paul is first in the NWC in walks per game (.90) and tied for first in total walks (27).
Getting it done on the field: Whitworth is not just lighting it up with the bats. The Pirates are tied for second in the NWC and 19th in Division III in fielding percentage (.972). The Bucs are also third in the conference in double plays turned (27).
Individually, Quentin O'Connor leads the NWC in fewest walks per nine innings (1.13 – 22nd in Division III), walks to strikeout ratio (5.63) and in complete games (2).
The Opponents: Whitman comes into the weekend 20-17 overall and 11-10 in the NWC after splitting a four-games series at Pacific Lutheran last weekend. The Blues won two of the three conference-counting games to keep alive their NWC tournament hopes. If Whitman can win at least two games this weekend, the Blues can make the tournament. They clinch a spot with a sweep. Whitman comes into the weekend second in the NWC in team batting average (.292), ninth in team earned run average (7.25) and eighth in team fielding percentage (.952).
Two first team All-Northwest Conference honorees from 2024 lead the Blues at the plate. Junior catcher Halen Hotte is batting .321 and leads the conference in home runs (16), RBIs (53) and slugging average (.770). Senior first baseman Jack Bickerton is hitting .342 with five home runs and 31 RBIs. He leads the NWC with 13 doubles. Sophomore RHP Russel Peterson sports a 4-4 record and leads the team with a 3.82 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 68.1 innings pitched.
Whitworth and Whitman played five times last season. The Blues won the first two matchups before the Pirates took the next three, including a 9-6 win in the 2024 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.
The Coach: CJ Perry is now in his eighth season as the Pirates head coach and has a record of 143-148 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 2025 NWC Tournament will take place at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. Dates and game times are still TBD.
