SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth baseball team put itself back in contention for a spot in the 2025 Northwest Conference tournament by winning two of three games last weekend. The Pirates hope to keep the momentum moving forward during a three-game series at Linfield this weekend. Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's single game are both scheduled to start at noon.
Check the Whitworth baseball schedule for live links to his week's games.
The Pirates: Whitworth (17-10 overall, 8-7 NWC) won two of three games against co-NWC leading Willamette University last weekend. The Pirates moved up to fourth place in the tightly bunched Northwest Conference standings.
Whitworth dropped the topsy-turvy series opener 12-11. The Bucs led 4-0 before falling behind 8-5 and 12-6. They rallied with five in the seventh but could not complete the comeback. Kyle Memarian hit for the cycle with a triple in his first at-bat and a home run in his final trip to the plate. Caleb Gray and Kevin Corder each went 3 for 4 at the plate. Carson Coffield hit a grand slam. AJ Woodward started on the mound and allowed five runs (four earned) in 4.0 innings before giving way to four relievers. Rylan Blair (1-1) took the loss in relief.
Saturday's second game was a 7-6 nailbiter in favor of the Pirates. Dylan Huntsman pitched six strong innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on nine hits with five strikeouts. Luke Stutesman (1-1) pitched 2.2 innings of scoreless relief to get the win, while Seth Mahler recorded the final out to get his first save. Aidan Morrison finished 3-3 at the plate with a double and home run. Memarian went 2-3 with an RBI double.
In Sunday's series finale, Ty Komoda moved into the leadoff position as a DH and batted 5 for 5 with three RBIs and four runs scored to spark Whitworth to a 17-2 victory in a game shortened to seven innings by the mercy rule. Gray went 4-5 with two RBIs and three runs. Domonic Giusti finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs from his ninth spot in the lineup. Quentin O'Connor improved to 5-2 on the mound after allowing two runs on five hits and two walks in six innings.
Memarian Honored: The NWC selected Kyle Memarian as the baseball position player of the week for his performance against Willamette. He batted .692 (9-13) in the series while hitting for the cycle in the opener. Over the course of the weekend, he improved his batting average by 49 points, from .375 to .424. He drove in five runs vs. the Bearcats and scored twice.
Memarian is only the latest Pirate recognized by the NWC this season. Caleb Gray has been selected for the position player of the week award twice (March 3 and March 24), while Quentin O'Connor (Feb. 17) and AJ Woodward (March 17) have each been named the pitcher of the week.
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 (.332 – 22nd in Div. III), home runs (34 – 7th in Div. III), home runs per game (1.26 – 14th), on-base percentage (.435), runs (259 – 11th), scoring average (9.6 – 14th) and slugging percentage (.521 – 10th).
Individually, Caleb Gray leads the conference in batting average (.430), hits (43), total bases (81 – 10th) and slugging percentage (.810 – 22nd). He is second in the NWC in home runs (11 – 3rd in Div. III) and third in runs batted in (35). Carson Coffield is second in the conference in runs batted in (38 – 18th in DIII) and fourth in home runs (7). Austin Paul is first in the NWC in walks (23 – 38th in Div. III) and walks per game (1.00 – 22nd).
Getting it done on the field: Whitworth is not just lighting it up with the bats. The Pirates are second in the NWC and 19th in Division III in fielding percentage (.973). The Bucs also top the conference in double plays turned (21).
Individually, Quentin O'Connor leads the NWC in fewest walks per nine innings (1.09) and in complete games (2 – tied for 10th in Div. III).
The Opponents: Linfield University is 14-11 overall and 6-6 in the NWC. The Wildcats will play NWC-foe Lewis & Clark Wednesday evening in a non-conference contest before hosting Whitworth over the weekend. Linfield was picked first in the 2025 NWC preseason poll, thanks to a strong pitching staff that currently leads the league in team ERA (4.29). The Wildcats' team batting average is .283 (third) and the team fielding percentage is .963 (sixth).
Individually, junior infielder Josh Mansur leads the starters in batting average (.310) with three home runs, three doubles and 14 RBIs. He also leads the squad in stolen bases (4-4). Sophomore infielder Luke Porter is hitting .305 and leads the team with six home runs and a .729 slugging average. He's driven in 19 runs. Sophomore RHP Jake Swenson, the reigning NWC pitcher of the week, is 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA. He has 59 strikeouts in 45.0 innings.
Last season Whitworth swept Linfield in the final home series of the 2024 campaign.
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.
Strength in Numbers: The Pirates' depth has paid big dividends on offense this season. Through the first 27 games of the season, 13 position players have made at least five starts, 11 have at least ten hits, 12 have scored at least ten runs, and 11 have at least seven RBIs. Whitworth's depth may be a significant strength throughout the season as impact plays could come from up and down the bench.
The Coach: CJ Perry is now in his eighth season as the Pirates head coach and has a record of 137-144 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 host Pacific Lutheran on in a Northwest Conference series on Friday April 18 and Saturday, April 19.
