SPOKANE, Wash. – Northwest Conference-leading Whitworth hits the road this weekend looking to continue the hot streak that has lifted the Pirates to the top of the NWC baseball standings. Whitworth will play a three-game series at Willamette, with a single game on Friday at 3:00 pm and a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon. The series is moved up a day to avoid play on Easter Sunday.
Check the Whitworth baseball schedule for live links to this week's games.
The Pirates: Whitworth (15-11 overall, 10-1 NWC) is riding a nine-game winning streak after sweeping Pacific University at Merkel Field last weekend. The Pirates scored 58 total runs in an offensive outburst against the Boxers.
Whitworth won the opener 15-6, breaking open a close contest by scoring the game's final eight runs. Kyle Memarian led the way, going 5 for 5 at the plate with two RBIs and four runs scored. He had a double and home run. Caleb Gray finished 3 for 3 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Austin Paul also drove in three runs. Dillon Hartman improved to 4-1 on the mound after giving up three runs on six hits and four walks in 5.0 innings. He struck out five. Luke Stutesman pitched two perfect innings to finish out the game.
The Pirates rolled to a 23-11 win in the second game, scoring eight runs in the second and eight more in the fifth. Whitworth trailed 5-0 through the top of the second. Paul went 3 for 3 with a career-high six RBIs. He had a bases-clearing triple and a two-run single. Carson Coffield hit two home runs and also drove in six runs. Spencer Shipman had a three-run double. Tyler Disch threw three innings of one-run relief to earn his first pitching win of the season. Zach Wright allowed only one run over the final two innings.
Whitworth completed the series sweep with a 20-10 win in Sunday's finale, hitting three three-run home runs. The game ended in the seventh by the 10-run rule. After Pacific scored six in the third to grab a 6-5 lead, the Pirates answered with six of their own in the bottom half of the third, then added six more in the fourth to jump ahead 17-6. Paul finished off his big weekend with a three-run home run, his first of the season. Shipman went 4 for 6 with a three-run home run and four RBIs. Gray's three-run shot gave him back the team lead in home runs with six. Nathaniel Kurano got through a bad third inning to improve to 4-2 after allowing eight runs on 11 hits in 5.0 innings.
Paul Honored: Whitworth senior second baseman Austin Paul, normally known as an All-Region defensive player, is the NWC Baseball Player of the Week for his performance in Whitworth's sweep of Pacific. He batted 5 for 9 (.556) with five walks to reach base ten times. More importantly he drove in 12 runs over the course of three games, including a career-high six RBIs in game two. He hit a three-run home run, a bases-clearing triple, an RBI double and two two-run singles in the series. And he played his usually solid defense with seven assists and four putouts (11 total chances) without an error. He was part of turning one double play.
Statistically Speaking: Whitworth's team batting average improved by 23 points to .294, which moved from eighth to third in the NWC. The Bucs rank first in home runs with 31 (7th in NCAA Div. III) and first in runs scored with 224 (20th in Div. III). Whitworth also leads the NWC in team slugging average (.460) and team on-base percentage (.410).
The Pirates' team ERA increased to 6.43 (4th in the NWC) and the team fielding percentage is .963 (4th in the NWC). Whitworth leads the conference in double plays turned with 19 (19th in NCAA Div. III).
After going 10 for 14 in the Pacific series, Kyle Memarian is leading Whitworth in batting average at .381 (third in the NWC) and he leads the league in runs scored (37 – 11th in DIII) by a wide margin. Carson Coffield has a .357 average and he leads the conference with 31 RBIs. Caleb Gray is batting .340 and has six home runs, which is tied for first in the league, and he is second in the NWC in runs scored (28).
Spreading the Wealth: Whitworth has a plethora of hitters who can drive in runs. Ten different Pirates have at least 11 RBIs this season. Four currently rank among the top-ten in the NWC, led by Carson Coffield's 31 which leads the league. Caleb Gray (24) is third, while Kyle Memarian and Austin Paul (19 apiece) are tied for ninth. Spencer Shipman (21 RBIs) would be in the top ten, but he has hit that total in only 14 games. A player needs to have played in 75% of his team's games to appear among NWC leaders.
The Opponents: Willamette University is 5-15 overall and 2-7 in the NWC heading into the weekend. The Bearcats lost three out of four games at PLU over the weekend. The Lutes won all three that counted toward NWC standings before Willamette won the fourth game 7-2, which ended the Bearcats' eight-game losing skid.
Willamette comes into the week hitting .270 as a team (8th in the NWC). The Bearcats are seventh in team ERA (7.55) and ninth in team fielding percentage (.945). Junior catcher Carter Stoltz leads the team at the plate with a .373 average, three home runs and 17 RBIs. Senior IF Adam Birt contributes a .323 average with two home runs and 12 RBIs. Senior RHP Steven Verespey is 1-2 with an ERA of 4.75.
Whitworth took two of three from Willamette in the series played in Spokane last season. The Bearcats have swept the Pirates in Whitworth's last two visits to Salem in 2022 and 2023.
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.
Finally Home-Sweet-Home: A road-heavy non-conference schedule and unfortunate weather meant that Whitworth had 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.
Pirates Picked First: Whitworth is picked atop the 2026 NWC preseason coaches poll. The Pirates returned 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 second place Linfield in a key three-game series on April 11-12 at Merkel Field.
