SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth will play its first home baseball games of the 2026 season when the Pirates return to Northwest Conference action with a three-game series against Lewis & Clark College at Merkel Field. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. First pitch on both days is slated for noon.
Check the Whitworth baseball schedule for live links to his week's games.
Watch on FloCollege: Like the rest of the Northwest Conference, Whitworth's home athletic events will be steamed through FloCollege in 2025-26. Fans can sign up to watch Pirate sports on the FloCollege portal. Registration is $116 for an annual subscription or $20 per month. Those who register with a .edu email address get a significant discount.
The Pirates: Whitworth (7-11 overall, 2-1 NWC) lost three out of four games at 13th-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges last weekend in the final non-conference series of the season.
The Pirates lost Friday afternoon's opener 15-10 in a slugfest that saw 29 hits and seven home runs. Kyle Memarian finished 3 for 6 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Junior Garcia went 3 for 4 with three RBIs and one run scored. Both hit home runs for the Bucs.
The second game, the opener of Saturday's doubleheader, went much like the first as the Stags pulled away and Whitworth rallied. CMS led 4-0 before the Bucs tied it in the fourth, then 8-4 before Whitworth got within 8-7 in the sixth. The Stags eventually won 12-9. Reed Gunnett hit two home runs and had five RBIs to lead the Bucs. Whitworth committed a season-high six errors.
Saturday's second game was the closest of the series. The Pirates rallied to tie the game 3-3 in the top of the ninth and took a 5-3 lead in the 10th before CMS scored three in the bottom of the tenth for a 6-5 win. Nate Gray Jr. went 3 for 5 with three runs scored, while Caleb Gray finished 3 for 4.
The Pirates won Sunday's series finale 19-6, ending by mercy rule in the seventh inning. Emerson Fleck dominated at the plate, going 3 for 4 with eight RBIs and four runs scored. He hit two home runs and had a bases-clearing double. Memarian was 2 for 3 with a home run, three RBIs and three runs scored.
Statistically Speaking: Whitworth's team batting average so far in 2026 is .280, which currently ranks eighth in the NWC. But they are second in the conference in home runs (21) and runs scored (131). The Pirates' team ERA is 7.17 (5th in the NWC) and the team fielding percentage is .954 (6th in the NWC).
Carson Coffield leads the team with a .400 average, with is currently 4th in the NWC. His 19 RBIs also lead the squad and rank third in the conference. Kyle Memarian is batting .344 and ranks second in the NWC in runs scored (21). Caleb Gray, who is batting .328, has four home runs, which is tied for second in the league with three other players.
The Opponents: Lewis & Clark comes into the weekend 7-6 overall and 2-1 in the NWC. The Rivers Otters played some of their best baseball of the season after taking three out of four games at Chapman University in California last weekend. They currently lead the conference in team batting average (.311) and team fielding percentage (.970) and rank third in team ERA (6.51). Junior OF Gavin Magano is hitting .395 with five doubles and 12 runs scored. Junior IF Michael Aikawa is batting .339 with three home runs and a team-best 15 RBIs. Junior RHP Owen Eisen is 1-0 and leads the team in strikeouts (21), innings pitched (22.0) and ERA (4.50). Whitworth was able to win two of three games against L&C in Portland last season. The River Otters have not played at Merkel Field since 2021 after the 2023 series was moved to Pasco, Washington because of unplayable conditions.
Pirates Picked First: Whitworth is picked atop the 2026 NWC preseason coaches poll. The Pirates return several key pieces from 2025 when they finished second in the regular season standings before winning the NWC tournament. Whitworth picked up seven of nine possible first place votes and 63 total points in the poll. Defending regular season champion Pacific (Ore.) is second with one first place vote and 54 points, while Puget Sound is third with a first place vote and 45 points.
The Coach: CJ Perry is now in his ninth season as the Pirates head coach and has a record of 149-152 through the 2025 schedule. He's led Whitworth to the NWC Tournament in four of his eight seasons, including a tournament championship in 2025. 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 travel to Newberg, Oregon for a three-game series at George Fox on March 21-22.
