SPOKANE, Wash. – Kyle Memarian made his case to repeat as Northwest Conference Player of the Year by hitting three home runs to lead Whitworth to a baseball doubleheader sweep of visiting Whitman on Saturday at Merkel Field. The Pirates won the opener 7-5 and took the nightcap 12-5.
Whitworth, already the 2026 NWC Champions coming into the weekend, improved to 25-14 overall and 19-4 in the NWC. The Blues dropped to 14-24-1, 8-15. The teams will complete the series with a single game on Sunday.
Game 1 – Whitworth 7, Whitman 5
Memarian finished a single short of the cycle for the second time this season to lead the Pirates to a win in the opener.
After the Blues took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, Memarian opened the bottom of the first with a triple to right field and scored on Spencer Shipman's ground out. Caleb Gray and Nate Gray Jr. added RBI singles later in the first.
Whitman briefly tied the game in the second when Landon Runyan drilled a home run to right field. In the bottom half, Austin Paul singled home Yash Gupta and scored on another RBI groundout from Shipman.
Paul launched a long home run to right field in the bottom of the fourth and Memarian followed with a deep drive out in center field for a 7-3 lead.
Runyan hit his second home run of the game for the Blues in the sixth, a two-run shot that cut the margin to 7-5.
Tyler Disch pitched a 1-2-3 seventh and Seth Mahler tossed two shutout innings in the eighth and ninth to pick up his seventh save of the season. Dillon Hartman improved to 8-1 with five solid innings, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks with a pair of strikeouts.
Russell Petersen (0-5) took the loss for Whitman after giving up seven runs on eight hits and a walk in 3.0 innings. Jack Finn tossed five innings of shutout relief for the Blues.
Memarian had three of Whitworth's 10 hits. Paul finished 2 for 3 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Runyan went 2 for 3 with three RBIs and two runs for Whitman.
Game 2 – Whitworth 12, Whitman 5
Memarian homered twice and drove in four runs to help the Pirates jump out to a 10-2 lead and cruise in the nightcap.
Memarian led off the bottom of the first with another long blast to center field. Whitman briefly led after scoring a pair of runs in the top of the second, including an RBI double by Christopher Nobrega.
The Pirates put the game out of reach early with eight runs in the bottom of the second. Paul had a two-run single and Memarian followed with a three-run shot off the scoreboard. Caleb Gray added a two-run bomb later in the second for a 9-2 lead.
Yash Gupta led off the third with a home run to right field to increase the margin to 10-2.
The teams traded single runs the rest of the game, including Carson Coffield's RBI double in the fifth and Halen Otte's 12th home run of the season for Whitman in the eighth.
Memarian's three home runs on the day give him nine for the season. Gray's shot was his eighth of the year.
Dylan Huntsman (4-2) got the win after giving up three runs on seven hits in 5.0 innings. He struck out five batters, including the side in the top of the first. Emerson Fleck threw the final 1.2 innings without giving up a hit.
Oliver Brown (1-7) started for Whitman and pitched into the second, allowing eight runs on five hits and two walks. Five Blues followed in relief.
