SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth will host defending Northwest Conference regular season champion Pacific University in a three-game series this weekend 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 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.
Home-Sweet-Home: A road-heavy non-conference schedule and unfortunate weather means that Whitworth has not played any of its first 23 games at Merkel Field. The Pirates played all 15 non-conference games away from home and the first two games of the series vs. Lewis & Clark had to be played in Pasco due to heavy snow in the Spokane area that covered Merkel Field the weekend of March 14-15.
The Pirates: Whitworth (12-11 overall, 7-1 NWC) moved into first place in the Northwest Conference standings with a three-game sweep at George Fox University last weekend. The Bucs have won six games in a row.
Whitworth won the opener 9-2 after scoring four runs in the top of the first against GFU ace Aidan Rady. They added three more in the third to chase Rady from the game. Spencer Shipman and Dominic Giusti hit solo home runs in the fourth inning. Shipman finished the game 3 for 5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Dillon Hartman (3-1) went 5.2 innings, allowing only two runs on four hits and four walks while striking out a season-high nine batters. Rylen Blair threw 3.1 shutout innings of relief to get his first save.
Emerson Fleck's two-run double in the tenth inning lifted Whitworth to a 4-2 victory in the second game. The Pirates rallied from an early 2-0 deficit. Dylan Huntsman pitched six good innings and gave up only two runs but did not factor in the decision. Ryan Boehm (1-0) pitched three innings of hitless relief to get the win and Seth Mahler threw the bottom of the tenth for his fourth save.
Whitworth won Sunday's finale 7-3, scoring seven runs on only five hits thanks to five walks and two hit batters. GFU also committed a pair of errors. Shipman went 2 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs. Yash Gupta was on base three times with two walks and a hit-by-pitch and scored two runs. Nathaniel Kurano (3-2) threw five innings and scattered seven hits while allowing only one run. Owen Schneider, Luke Stutesman and Mahler all pitched in relief.
Statistically Speaking: Whitworth's team batting average so far in 2026 is .271, which currently ranks eighth in the NWC. But they are first in the conference in home runs (25) and second in runs scored (172). The Pirates' team ERA is 6.00 (3rd in the NWC) and the team fielding percentage is .962 (3rd in the NWC).
Carson Coffield leads the team with a .366 average, with is currently ninth in the NWC. His 21 RBIs are tied for the lead in the conference. Kyle Memarian is batting .325 and leads the NWC in runs scored (26). Caleb Gray, who is batting .293, has five home runs, which is tied for second in the league.
The Opponents: Pacific University is 6-15 overall and 3-6 in the NWC heading into the weekend. The Boxers recently dropped two of three games at home against Pacific Lutheran.
Pacific comes into the week hitting .294 as a team (5th in the NWC). The Boxers are also fifth in team ERA (6.71) and eighth in team fielding percentage (.950). Junior Will Shelor, who plays outfield as well as pitches, currently leads the conference in batting average (.463). He has six doubles and 14 RBIs. Sophomore pitcher Nicholas Saelens, an honorable mention All-NWC selection in 2025, is 2-1 with a 3.77 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 45.1 innings pitched.
Whitworth and Pacific played five times last spring. The Boxers won two of three during the regular season series. The Pirates won both games in the NWC tournament to claim the tournament title.
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 play at Willamette University on April 3-4. The teams will play Friday and Saturday to avoid Easter Sunday.
