LEWISTON, Idaho – Whitworth lost the first two games of the 2025 baseball season to NAIA #21 Lewis-Clark State College on Saturday afternoon at Harris Field. The Pirates fell 15-5 in the opener and 4-1 in the nightcap.
Whitworth will look to break into the 2026 win column during a five-game trip to Southern California next weekend.
Game 1 – LCSC 15, Whitworth 5 (7 inn.)
The Pirates led 3-0 and 4-3 before the Warriors broke through with six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and pulled away to win by ten.
Whitworth scored three runs in the third inning after Tommy Lamb led off with a double. Two outs later, and with Lamb at third base, Caleb Gray drove in the Bucs' first run of the season with a double that scored Lamb. Carson Coffield followed with Whitworth's first home run of 2026 to give the Bucs a 3-0 lead.
LCSC tied the game in the bottom of the third, including Bryce Johnson's two-run home run.
Whitworth went back up 4-3 in the fourth when Kyle Memarian drove home Tyson Betts with a sacrifice fly to deep right field.
The Warriors jumped in front 9-4 with six runs in the bottom of the fourth. Three of those came home on a bases-clearing double by Johnson. LCSC added single runs in the fifth and sixth, including a solo home run by Izzy Madariaga that made the score 11-4.
The Pirates appeared poised to get back into the contest after loading the bases with no one out in the top of the seventh. Grady grounded into a double play that scored Nate Gray Jr., but the Warriors were able to get out of the frame with just the one run scored.
LCSC put the game away with four runs in the seventh. Madariaga had another RBI in the rally.
Nathaniel Kurano started on the mound for the Pirates, allowing three runs on three hits and a walk in three innings. Emerson Fleck (0-1) took the loss when he gave up six runs on two hits, two walks and two hit betters in two-thirds of an inning. Seth Mahler (2.1 innings, two earned runs on five hits) and Zach Wright (0.2 innings, two earned runs on three hits) followed.
Jackson Cloud (1-0) got the win with three innings of relief.
Game 2 – LCSC 4, Whitworth 1
The Pirates carried a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth, thanks to a stellar start on the mound by Dylan Huntsman. The Warriors scored four in the bottom of the sixth in a game scheduled for only seven frames.
The game remained scoreless through three innings thanks to a strong throw home from Fleck in center field that threw out an LCSC baserunner on a strong tag by Rylan Davis at the plate in the bottom of the third.
Whitworth was set down in order over the first three innings before Fleck drilled a one-out double in the top of the fourth. With two outs, Reed Gunnett singled to drive in Fleck for the game's first run.
Huntsman allowed only two hits in four strong innings. Luke Stutesman (0-1) pitched a scoreless fifth in relief before the Warriors broke through for four runs in the bottom of the sixth. Johnson, who drove in a total of six runs on the day, delivered the tying RBI. An infield single off the bat of Kooper Jones and a throwing error allowed the next two runs to cross the plate.
Three LCSC pitchers held the Pirates to only three hits. Landon Webb got the win with two innings of scoreless relief.
