SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth hits the road for a three-game Northwest Conference baseball series at George Fox University this weekend. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday and single game on Sunday. First pitch on both days is slated for noon.
Check the Whitworth baseball schedule for live links to this 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 (9-11 overall, 4-1 NWC) only got in two games against visiting Lewis & Clark last weekend, and those two games had to move to Pasco, Washington due to heavy snowfall in Spokane. The Pirates took advantage, winning both ends of the doubleheader with the River Otters at Columbia Basin College.
Whitworth jumped to an early 4-0 lead and then held on to defeat L&C 4-3 in Sunday's opener. Austin Paul poked a three-run double to left field in the bottom of the second inning. Emerson Fleck added an RBI single in the third. Dillon Hartman was strong on the mound into the sixth, earning the win with 5.1 innings, allowing two runs on six hits with five strikeouts. Four pitchers followed in relief and limited the River Otters to one run. Seth Mahler got the final two outs, including a strikeout with the bases loaded to end the game.
The Pirates broke open the second game early, scoring eight runs in the bottom of the third on the way to a 17-3 win. Caleb Gray hit a grand slam in that third inning rally. Ty Komoda went 3 for 4 with two doubles, two RBIs and three runs scored. Whitworth took advantage of nine walks and five hit batters from L&C pitchers. Dylan Huntsman (2-1) went 6.2 innings and allowed three runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. Nathaniel Kurano threw the final 2.1 innings, allowing only one hit.
Statistically Speaking: Whitworth's team batting average so far in 2026 is .280, which currently ranks seventh in the NWC. But they are first in the conference in home runs (22) and second in runs scored (152). The Pirates' team ERA is 6.71 (4th in the NWC) and the team fielding percentage is .959 (6th in the NWC).
Carson Coffield leads the team with a .375 average, with is currently 10th in the NWC. His 19 RBIs also lead the squad and rank second in the conference. Kyle Memarian is batting .338 and leads the NWC in runs scored (23). Caleb Gray, who is batting .324, has five home runs, which is tied for second in the league.
The Opponents: George Fox is 7-9 overall and 5-3 in the NWC, coming off a similar weekend to Whitworth. The Bruins' series at Pacific Lutheran was affected by the storm and they only got in two games on Sunday, which GFU swept 7-3 and 5-2. The Bruins will host top-ranked Denison (Ohio) in a non-conference game on Wednesday.
George Fox comes into the week hitting .233 as a team (9th in the NWC). But the Bruins are second in team ERA (5.95) and first in team fielding percentage (.968). Junior IF Garrett Strube, an honorable mention All-NWC selection in 2025, leads the team in batting average (.339). Senior catcher BJ Tokushima leads the team with two home runs, four doubles and 14 RBIs. Senior RHP Aidan Rady is 3-1 with a 2.13 ERA and has 21 strikeouts against only three walks.
Whitworth took two of three games from George Fox in Spokane last season and two of three against the Bruins in Newberg in 2024.
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 host Pacific University on March 28-29 in a three-game set.
