By: Cody Wright
SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth softball will play under the sun this weekend as they return to the field with a non-conference trip to California. The Pirates will play a doubleheader at La Verne on Saturday at noon, a doubleheader against La Sierra on Monday at noon, and a single game at Hope International on Tuesday at 2:00 pm.
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: After a significant effort was made to remove snow from Diana Marks Field last weekend, the field conditions forced Whitworth (0-10) to postpone its four-game Northwest Conference series against George Fox. The games will be rescheduled and played on dates to be determined.
The Opponents: La Verne enters the weekend with a 9-8 overall record. The Leopards are coming off a doubleheader split with University of Minnesota Morris that included a 19-1 five-inning win. La Verne split a doubleheader against George Fox on February 20th. They hit .296 as a team, led by senior Annica Luna who is hitting .382. Senior Allie Colenzo leads the team with 10 RBIs. Sophomore Briana Vasquez posts a 1.64 ERA in eight starts from the circle. The Pirates fell twice in a doubleheader at La Verne last season by scores of 6-1 and 8-0.
NAIA opponent La Seirra is 4-15 overall and carries an eight-game losing streak into this weekend. The Golden Eagles hope to end that streak when they host a four-game series against Ottawa University Arizona on Thursday and Friday. La Sierra hits .243 as a team, led by senior Annica Carrion who has a .367 batting average. Sophomore outfielder Jazlynn Hernandez leads the team in hits with 15. Tori Morton has made eight starts, and Hanna Dobbs has made nine in the circle for the Golden Eagles. La Sierra is a first-time opponent for Whitworth.
Another first-time NAIA opponent, Hope International, heads into this weekend with a 13-10 overall record. The Royals host a four-game series against Arizona Christian on Friday and Saturday before its game against Whitworth on Tuesday. Hope Int. has a .290 team batting average, led by senior Vivian Little, who has a .456 batting average with a team-high 26 hits. Little has also made five starts in the circle with a 3.38 ERA. Sophomore Kaitlyn Maaske leads the Royal pitching staff with a 1.73 ERA in 11 starts. They are also a strong defensive team with a .962 team fielding percentage.
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 will return to Spokane for its first action at Diana Marks Field with a four-game NWC series against seventh-ranked Linfield.
