McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Whitworth piled on 19 runs on 30 hits to sweep a doubleheader with the Linfield baseball team Saturday afternoon at Roy Helser Field.
The Pirates won 8-4 in the series opener before putting up 16 hits in the nightcap to secure an 11-3 victory. The Wildcats tallied eight hits in both games.
GAME 1: Whitworth 8, Linfield 4
An early pitchers' duel turned into a 14-hit, four-run win for Whitworth. Pirates starter Hunter Dryden earned the win to improve to 2-2 on the season. He allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits with seven strikeouts in six innings of work. Hunter Williams secured his first save of the season after tossing the final three innings, allowing an earned run on three hits while striking out five.
Linfield junior
Andrew Del Biaggio was solid through four innings but gave up four earned runs in the fifth inning before being chased out of the game.
Skyler Manelski took the ball from Del Biaggio and went 1 1/3 innings, allowing an earned run on two hits. The Pirates picked up five runs in the fifth on two wild pitches, a balk and RBI singles by Gage Gibson and Brenden Duncan.
Daniel Kahn went 2 for 4 and drove in three of the Wildcats' runs, slapping an RBI single to center field to open the scoring in the fourth before hitting a two-run double to left-center in the sixth.
Garrett Moen scored the fourth run for the 'Cats in the eighth on a wild pitch. Moen went 2 for 3 while
Tanner Jacques went 3 for 4. Both scored twice.
The Pirates scored a pair of insurance runs in the seventh on an RBI double by Aidan Morrison and a sacrifice fly by JJ Fahnlander. They got another run in the eighth on a Gibson RBI single. Gibson finished 2 for 5 with a run and two RBI in the leadoff spot while Morrison went 3 for 5.
GAME 2: Whitworth 11, Linfield 3
Every player in the Whitworth starting lineup recorded a hit in the second game as the Pirates swept the twinbill.
The 'Cats scored a run in the first inning on a
Daniel Kahn RBI double.
Tanner Jacques drove in a run on a groundout in the fifth and then tacked on another RBI in the ninth with a double down the left-field line. Jacques led the team with two RBI while
Mike LaVigne and
Wyatt Smith had two hits apiece.
Gage Gibson, Jaxsen Sweum and Riley Cissne all had three hits for the Pirates. Gibson finished 3 for 6 with a run and three RBI while Sweum went 3 for 3 with a run and two RBI. Cissne went 3 for 5 while Jeremiah Kennell turned in a two-hit performance.
Jack Leary earned his second win of the season on the mound, allowing two runs, one earned, on five hits with nine strikeouts in seven innings of work. Riley Whelan took the mound in the eighth and finished the game for the Pirates.
The 'Cats used four arms out of the bullpen. Starter
Gage Mack went 2 2/3 innings, allowing three runs before handing the ball to
Jackson Koons, who went 3 2/3 and allowed two more runs to cross the plate.
Nick Alder,
Jarrett Allen and
Brannan Meriwether also saw action in the final three frames.
NEXT
The series finale between the 'Cats and the Pirates will take place at noon on Sunday. The 'Cats will then host Bushnell in a non-conference matchup at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
