SPOKANE, Wash. – Ty Komoda hit a home run in each game to lead Whitworth to a sweep of visiting Linfield in a Northwest Conference baseball doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Merkel Field. The Pirates won the opener 8-3 and the nightcap 12-2.
Whitworth improved to 19-13 overall and 14-3 in the NWC to take over sole possession of first place in the conference standings and secure a series victory over the Wildcats (18-11, 10-4 NWC). The teams will complete the series with a single game on Sunday at noon.
Game 1 – Whitworth 8, Linfield 3
Komoda hit a two-run home run and Carson Coffield added a two-run insurance double late in the game to lead the Pirates in the opener.
Yash Gupta's two-run single in the bottom of the second inning got Whitworth on the board. Komoda drilled his first home run of the day in the bottom of the fourth inning. It was a line-drive shot to right-center.
The Wildcats clawed back in the top of the seventh, scoring three runs. Jackson Bui had a two-run single and Rylan Gullard added a sacrifice fly. Relief pitcher Tyler Disch limited the damage after he came in with the bases loaded and no one out before shutting the door on a bigger inning.
The Pirates got one back in the bottom of the seventh when Nate Gray Jr. came through with a two-out RBI single that scored Coffield.
Whitworth put the game away with three in the bottom of the eighth. Spencer Shipman singled home the first run and Coffield followed with his two-run double.
Dillon Hartman threw five shutout innings before giving up three in the sixth. He improved to 6-1 this season. Seth Mahler tossed two shutout innings in the eighth and ninth to pick up his fifth save of the season.
Matthew Tacheny (1-2) got the loss after allowing four runs on nine hits in 5.2 innings.
Dominic Giusti and Shipman each had three hits for Whitworth.
Game 2 – Whitworth 12, Linfield 2
Dylan Huntsman threw seven dominant innings and Shipman drove in four runs to pace the Pirates in the second game.
Huntsman improved to 3-2 thanks to his best outing of the season. He went 7.0 innings and gave up only one run on three hits. He struck out six Wildcats without a walk.
Whitworth got on the board in the bottom of the first on Coffield's RBI double. They added four runs in the third, two on Shipman's ninth home run of the season and two on Gray Jr.'s two-out single.
Komoda's solo shot in the fourth, his fifth home run this year, made it 6-0.
Whitworth put the game away with three in the sixth and three more in the seventh. Komoda had an RBI single in the sixth. Shipman had a two-run single in the seventh.
Shipman finished 3 for 4 with four RBIs and two runs in the second game. He went 5 for 9 over the course of the doubleheader to raise his team-leading batting average to .397. He now has nine home runs in only 20 games played.
Johnny Ingalls (1-1) took the pitching loss as Linfield's starter after allowing four runs on four hits in 2.2 innings. Four Wildcats followed in relief.
Zach Jaeger hit a pinch-hit home run for Linfield in the top of the ninth for his first hit of the season.
