SPOKANE, Wash. – Coming off a dramatic win in the 2025 Northwest Conference tournament, the Whitworth Pirates are headed back to the NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time since 2016 and the fourth time overall. The Bucs have been drawn into the La Verne, California regional with La Verne, Pomona-Pitzer and McMurray (Texas). Whitworth will take on the Leopards in the first round of the double-elimination event on Friday at 1:30 pm.
Check the Whitworth baseball schedule for live links to his week's games.
NWC Tournament: The Pirates did it the hard way, but seemingly would have it no other way. After losing its opening round game, Whitworth rolled through four wins in two days to claim the NWC Tournament crown for the second time in school history and first since 2015.
In their opener, the Pirates fell behind a fired-up Puget Sound team making its first-ever appearance in the conference tournament 3-0 through four innings. The Pirates fought from behind twice, first to tie the game 4-4 and then to retie it 6-6 in the 10th before the Loggers won 7-6 in 11 innings. Junior Garcia hit his first home run of the season and finished with two RBIs. Kevin Corder had a game-tying two-run single. Kyle Memarian went 4 for 6 from the leadoff spot in the order. AJ Woodward started on the mound and allowed four runs on nine hits in seven innings of work. Seth Mahler (2-3) took the loss after giving up three runs on five hits in 3.0 innings. Luke Stutesman got the final three outs of the 11th.
Whitworth bounced back in its first elimination game on Friday, defeating Linfield and its NWC Pitcher of the Year Jake Swenson 7-3. Dylan Huntsman outdueled Swenson on the mound, improving to 5-2 with six strong innings. He allowed three runs on eight hits. Quentin O'Connor came into the game in the seventh inning with the tying run at the plate and shut down the Wildcats over the final three innings to pick up his first save. Caleb Gray went 3 for 4 with two RBIs, while Aidan Morrison finished 2 for 3 with a home run.
O'Connor came out and started the second game on Friday after a break while Puget Sound played Pacific (Ore.) and lost 7-2. Despite pitching three innings in the save earlier on Friday, O'Connor pitched a complete game in the nightcap, allowing only five hits and one run while striking out six Loggers to improve to 8-3. Gray went 3 for 4, while Kevin Corder finished 2 for 4 with each scoring a pair of runs. In this second meeting between the two schools, it was Whitworth taking a quick 6-1 lead through three innings.
Whitworth knew it had to defeat host, and top-seeded, Pacific University twice on Saturday. It didn't look good early as the Boxers scored three runs in the bottom of the first before an out was recorded and led 5-0 through two innings. The Pirates got one back in the third and tied the game in the fifth when Gray drilled a three-run double to pull within one and Carson Coffield followed with an RBI single. The Bucs added two more in the sixth, including an RBI single by Memarian, and one in the ninth on Garcia's sacrifice fly for the 8-5 win. Nathaniel Kurano (1-1) came on in relief in the first and went 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on six hits. Mahler threw the final 2.2 innings to record his third save of the year.
The momentum carried through into the finale and Whitworth rolled to a 7-1 win as Gray got things going with a first-inning home run. First-year, left-handed pitcher Rylen Blair (3-2) was stellar, giving up only one run on four hits in 8.0 innings of work. Mahler pitched a perfect ninth to complete the victory. Whitworth only had seven hits but took advantage of 10 bases on balls and two Pacific errors.
The Pirates: Whitworth (29-16) is listed among "others receiving votes" in the latest ABCA Division III coaches poll. The Pirates finished second in the NWC regular season with a 15-9 record, one game behind Pacific University. After opening the first half of conference play 6-6, the Bucs closed the second half with a 9-3 record.
Whitworth leads the NWC and ranks among the top 30 in NCAA Division III in several key offensive categories. The Pirates lead the conference in batting average (.318), home runs (52 – 12th in Div. III), home runs per game (1.16 – 17th), on-base percentage (.415), runs (397 – 16th), scoring average (8.8) and slugging percentage (.490 – 27th). They also lead the league in hits (490) and triples (14).
Individually, Kyle Memarian leads the Northwest Conference in batting average (.423). Caleb Gray leads the conference in hits (67) and total bases (103), is second in batting average (.399), second in RBIs (53) and third in home runs (13). Carson Coffield is third in the conference in runs batted in (52) and fifth in home runs (10). Austin Paul is third in total walks (27).
Whitworth is not just lighting it up with the bats. The Pirates are 36th in Division III in fielding percentage (.968). The Bucs also lead the conference in double plays turned (37 – 22nd in DIII).
From the mound, Whitworth has a 5.32 team ERA and ranks first in the NWC and sixth in NCAA Division III in walks per nine innings (2.90).
Individually, Quentin O'Connor leads the NWC in fewest walks per nine innings (1.21 – 23rd in Division III), strikeout to walk ratio (5.55) and in complete games (3).
All-NWC Honors: Kyle Memarian was selected as the 2025 NWC Player of the Year, leading a contingent of ten Pirates earning All-NWC recognition of some kind. Memarian, who was NWC batting champion in 2025, was joined on the first team by Caleb Gray and Dylan Huntsman. AJ Woodward was named to the second team.
Six Pirates received honorable mention consideration: Kevin Corder, Carson Coffield, Brock Molenda, Aidan Morrison, Quentin O'Connor and Spencer Shipman.
The NCAA Regional Field: Whitworth's first round opponent is La Verne. The Leopards are 34-9 and ranked ninth in the latest ABCA Division III poll. ULV won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title with an 18-6 record and took the SCIAC tournament with a 3-1 mark last week, defeating Pomona-Pitzer 9-7 in the final. The Leopards' team batting average is .348 (5th in NCAA DIII), have a team ERA of 3.90 (22nd in DIII) and a team fielding percentage of .968 (46th). The Leopards' lineup is stacked with first team All-SCIAC honorees, including senior 1B Noah Garcia, who bats .350 with 14 doubles, 43 RBIs and 41 runs scored. Junior shortstop Ryan Vosika hits .429 with 29 RBIs and 54 runs scored. Senior LHP Ethan Galindo is 8-1 with a 2.96 ERA, while senior RHP Matthew DesMarets is 9-2 with a 3.05 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 73.2 innings. Both hurlers are first team All-SCIAC. Whitworth is 2-3 against La Verne since 2012, including two meetings in NCAA regionals. The Pirates defeated the Leopards 5-0 in the 2012 regional at McMinnville, Oregon and lost to ULV 10-3 in 2015 at Tyler, Texas. Whitworth won the last meeting 5-3 in 2023 at La Verne.
Pomona-Pitzer is 30-15 and ranked 15th in the most recent ABCA Division III poll. The Sagehens finished second in the SCIAC with a 16-8 record and came through the elimination bracket of the SCIAC tournament to force a winner-take-all game against La Verne by defeating the Leopards 13-12 on Saturday. As a team, P-P hits .291, has a team ERA of 5.73 and a fielding percentage of .971 (20th in DIII). The Sagehens have slugged 53 home runs (10th in DIII). SCIAC Player of the Year Jack Gold (So., UT) bats .366 with 15 home runs, 12 doubles and 53 RBIs. First team All-SCIAC honoree JC Ng (Sr., OF) hits .369 with 12 home runs, 11 doubles and 53 RBIs. Senior Ethan Collins earned second team selection as a starting pitcher with a 6-0 record and 3.00 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 66.0 innings pitched. The Pirates and Sagehens have played each other 19 times since 2012, all at the Claremont, California campus. Pomona-Pitzer leads the series 11-8 and has won the last seven contests.
McMurry University, from Abilene, Texas, finished the regular season 32-11 overall. The War Hawks went 22-8 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and 1-2 in the SCAC tournament before claiming an at-large spot in the NCAA DIII playoffs. As a team McMurry hits .324 (36th in DIII), has a team ERA of 4.96 and a fielding percentage of .958. Junior catcher Michael Smosna earned SCAC Offensive Player of the Year recognition with a .429 average with 16 doubles, eight home runs and 55 RBIs. Senior 3B Riley Hood, a first team All-SCAC choice, bats .397 with 13 doubles, 35 RBIs and a team-best 61 runs scored (11th in DIII). Second team All-SCAC pitcher Hunter Poe is 9-1 with a 3.12 ERA with 53 strikeouts. Whitworth and McMurry have never played in baseball.
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 in his eighth season as the Pirates head coach and has a record of 149-150 in his tenure. He's now led Whitworth to the NWC Tournament in four of his eight seasons and has a tournament record of 9-7. 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.
