SPOKANE, Wash. –Whitworth will have to bounce back from its first Northwest Conference series loss of the season when the Pirates host four games this week. Whitworth will take on Lewis & Clark in the finale of a series that began three weeks ago on Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 pm in Pasco, Washington. The Pirates will then host Linfield in a first place showdown at Merkel Field this weekend with a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. Both days will start at noon.
Check the Whitworth baseball schedule for live links to this week's games.
The Pirates: Whitworth (16-13 overall, 11-3 NWC) won the first game on Friday and then dropped the next two on Saturday at Willamette last weekend. Despite Spencer Shipman hitting a home run in every game in Salem, the Bucs saw a ten-game winning streak come to an end.
Whitworth won the opener 14-4 after trailing 3-0 after one inning. The Pirates put the game away with eight runs in the seventh inning, including a three-run home run by Shipman. Kyle Memarian went 3 for 5 with three RBIs, while Nate Gray Jr. finished 2 for 4 with three RBIs. Shipman batted 2 for 5 with three runs in addition to the three RBIs. Dillon Hartman improved to 5-1 after allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks in 6.0 innings.
The Bearcats got a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth in Saturday's opener and held on for a 4-3 win. Shipman gave Whitworth a 2-1 lead in the third with a two-run homer. Austin Paul added an RBI double in the eighth to get the Bucs within a run. Whitworth got only six hits and the Pirates were unable to maximize three Willamette errors. Dylan Huntsman (2-2) allowed four runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings. Tyler Disch tossed 3.1 innings of one-hit relief.
Whitworth fell behind 5-0 in the first inning of the series finale and never recovered in a 9-4 setback. Shipman added his final home run of the weekend, a two-run shot, in the top of the ninth and finished 3 for 4. Nathaniel Kurano (4-3) allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks in 3.0 innings.
Statistically Speaking: Whitworth's team batting average is .294, which is fourth in the NWC. The Bucs rank first in home runs with 34 (11th in NCAA Div. III) and first in runs scored with 251 (22nd in Div. III).
The Pirates' team ERA is 6.25 (5th in the NWC) and the team fielding percentage is .964 (5th in the NWC). Whitworth leads the conference in double plays turned with 23 (19th in NCAA Div. III).
Kyle Memarian is leading Whitworth in batting average at .380 (fourth in the NWC) and he leads the league in runs scored (40 – 16th in DIII) by a wide margin. Carson Coffield has a .340 average and he is second in the conference with 31 RBIs. Spencer Shipman is hitting .379 and has eight home runs and 28 RBIs. The home run total leads the conference. Caleb Gray is batting .327 and has six home runs, which is tied for fourth in the league, and he is second in the NWC in runs scored (29).
Spreading the Wealth: Whitworth has a plethora of hitters who can drive in runs. Ten different Pirates have at least 11 RBIs this season. Six players have at least 20 RBIs, led by Carson Coffield's 31. Spencer Shipman has 28, Caleb Gray has 25, Kyle Memarian has 23, while Austin Paul and Dominic Guisti have 20 apiece. There are only 18 players in the entire NWC with 20 or more RBIs and Whitworth has six of them.
The Opponents: Lewis & Clark comes into Wednesday's game 14-12 overall and 7-4 in the NWC (third place). The River Otters played 17th-ranked Pomona-Pitzer tough over the weekend, taking one of three games from the Sagehens.
L&C leads the conference in team fielding percentage (.969) and ranks second in team batting average (.306). The River Otters are seventh in team ERA (7.53). Junior OF Brett Potter leads the team with a .393 average, which is third in the NWC. Junior IF Michael Aikawa hits .354 and leads the NWC in RBIs with 33. He also has six home runs.
Whitworth defeated L&C 4-3 and 17-3 in a pair of games played in Pasco, Washington on March 15th. Wednesday's game will complete the series that began that weekend.
Linfield University (18-9 overall, 10-2 NWC) took over first place in the NWC standings by percentage points by sweeping Pacific Lutheran at home last weekend.
The Wildcats have had the deepest and most effective pitching staff in the NWC this season, leading the league in team ERA (4.78) by over a run. Linfield is hitting .285 (6th in the NWC) and fielding .965 (3rd in the league). Senior IF Ely Kennel is hitting .330 with four home runs and 23 RBIs, while sophomore IF Wyatt McClory hits .315 with four home runs and 23 RBIs. Junior RHP Matthew Tacheny has been the top starting pitcher with a 1-1 record and 3.63 ERA in 44.2 innings pitched.
Whitworth took two of three against Linfield in McMinnville last season and defeated the Wildcats 7-3 in an elimination game at the NWC Tournament.
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. The Bucs finally played at home on March 28-29 and swept Pacific in a three-game set.
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 play a four-game series at Pacific Lutheran on April 18-19. The first three games will be NWC contests and the fourth game will be a non-conference tilt.
