SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth softball will make its first appearance at Diana Marks Field this weekend with a home-opening Northwest Conference four-game series against George Fox. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at noon and first pitch on Sunday is scheduled for 11:00 am.

Check the Whitworth softball schedule page for live links to this weekend's action.

Watch on FloCollege: All of Whitworth's home and Northwest Conference athletic events will be streamed through FloCollege in 2025-26. Fans can sign up to watch Pirate sports on the FloCollege portal. Registration is $108 for an annual subscription or $20 per month. Those who register with a .edu email address get a significant discount.

The Pirates: Whitworth (0-10) was swept by Lewis & Clark in its first Northwest Conference series of the season.

The Pirates fell 6-3 in game one on Saturday. The River Otters took a two-run lead in the first before the Bucs responded with an RBI single in the third inning from Camryn Sage. An L&C bases loaded triple in the fourth inning pushed the lead to five. Natalie Singer's RBI triple and Kendel Sage's sacrifice fly scored two, but the Pirates couldn't get closer. Madison Sanchez struck out six in the circle for Whitworth. Game two went to the Otts 8-0 in five innings. L&C scored seven of its runs in the second inning and the Pirates were held to two hits.

Game three on Sunday was won by L&C 7-2. Whitworth collected a season-high eight hits in the game but couldn't overcome a five-run third inning from the River Otters. Brynn Erdmann hit an RBI single, and Teeghan Reams crushed the first Pirate homer of the season for the pair of Whitworth runs. Whitworth was held to one hit in a 5-0 game four loss. Despite the lone hit, the Bucs drew five walks and loaded the bases in the second inning but were unable to push a run across the plate.

The Opponents:  George Fox is 4-4 overall and 2-2 in NWC play heading into this weekend. The Bruins finished the 2025 season with a 19-9 NWC record before being bumped from the NWC Tournament by second-seeded L&C. Last weekend, GFU battled to a series split against third-ranked Linfield. Junior Cori Doran ranks third in the conference with a .476 batting average. Makayla Noone leads the team in hits (12) while Sami Stadtlander posts a team-high three home runs and 10 RBIs. Sophomore Nicole Ledendecker has a 3.50 ERA in four starts in the circle. Allison Heater has started two games and holds a 4.61 ERA. The Bruins took three of four games from the Pirates in Spokane last season.  

The Coach: Bill Baber took over as the head softball coach at Whitworth prior to the 2026 season. Baber, who has over 350 career victories to his name across NCAA DI, DII, DIII and NAIA levels, spent the last 22 seasons at California Baptist University where he served 10 seasons as a head coach, four seasons as associate head coach and eight seasons as an assistant. He led Cal Baptist to a National Christian College Athletics Association championship in his first season as a head coach in 2012 and advanced to the NCAA DII regional playoffs five seasons in a row from 2014-2018.

Looking Ahead: Whitworth heads to California for a five-game non-conference trip. The Pirates play doubleheaders at La Verne on March 21 and NAIA opponent La Sierra on March 23. The trip closes with a single game at Hope International on March 24.