SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth baseball will play its conference opening series at home this weekend with four games against Pacific Lutheran. The Pirates will be seeking to stay unbeaten, building on their best start since 2016.

Check the Whitworth baseball schedule for live links to all the action.

The Pirates: Whitworth (7-0) stayed perfect for the second straight weekend as they swept a four-game series at Schreiner. This marks the best start since 2016, where they began 11-0 and finished the season 30-13.

Weekend Recap: Kevin Corder set the weekend off on the right foot with a grand slam in the first inning of game one, Dominic Guisti doubled in the fourth to knock in another pair of runs, and Whitworth tacked on runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh to go up 14-0. Hunter Dryden tossed six scoreless innings before he was relieved, the Pirates allowed six runs through in the eighth but won comfortably 14-6. Whitworth won 7-1and 8-2 on Saturday. A dropped fly ball with the bases loaded put Whitworth up 3-0 in game one, and they wouldn't have needed any more runs. Jack Leary was dominant through seven innings allowing three hits and a run, racking up nine strikeouts. Henry Zaske, Ty Komoda, and Austin Paul each recorded RBIs as the Pirates ran away. Game two was tied 1-1 in the fourth, but Ty Quiggle knocked in a pair of runs to fuel a three-run inning. Whitworth blew it open with four runs in the eighth to go up 8-1, Aaron Clogston and Spencer Shipman knocked in RBIs during that inning. Quentin O'Connor got the win on the mound tossing four innings and allowing one run. In the series finale, Kevin Corder and Jacob Doughty knocked in first-inning runs to make it 2-1. Connor Ashworth threw five innings and allowed a single run to get his first win of the season. Leading 3-1 in the seventh, the Pirate offense came to life to seal the sweep as Bake Barrett doubled to drive in a pair of runs, and Henry Zaske pushed another across to give the Pirates the 6-1 win.

The Pirates have been excellent on both sides thus far and will look to carry it into conference play. On the offensive side, Whitworth has scored 71 runs (no other NWC team has more than 59), batted .316 with a .484 slugging percentage and nine home runs. The pitching staff has a 2.55 ERA, allowing just 18 runs on 49 hits, 57 strikeouts to 11 walks, allowing a .227 opponent average. The defense has complimented that pitching staff with a league-leading fielding percentage of .981. It has been a promising start for a team who's looking to rebound from a last place finish in 2023.

The Opponent: Pacific Lutheran (1-6) has had a less than ideal start to 2024. Since beating Bushnell 5-3 at home in the season opener, the Lutes have lost six straight (five by more eight runs or more). PLU is batting .183 so far with a .219 slugging percentage and a .279 on base percentage (all rank last in the NWC). They've struck out 56 times and earned just 11 walks and have not managed a home run yet. On the pitching side, the Lutes have a 9.31 ERA allowing 72 runs on 91 hits, allowing a .364 batting average to opposing hitters.

Senior Aaron Barber leads the Lutes in average (.273), hits (6), slugging percentage (.318), and RBIs (4). Chris Moreno came into the season as one of the few returners from the 2023 pitching staff, he's pitched a team-leading nine innings and given up nine earned runs on 14 hits. Moreno has an ERA of 9.00, a 2.00 WHIP, seven strikeouts and four walks.

Dryden's Dominance: The senior ace has been a terror on the mound in his first two outings. Dryden is 2-0, he's struck out 11 batters through 11 scoreless innings and allowed just seven hits, walking one batter. He leads the conference in ERA and wins, he's top five in strikeouts and average allowed. The senior has anchored a pitching staff that looks completely transformed since 2023.

Pirates hitting for Power: There's been no shortage of home runs for Whitworth. The Pirates have blasted nine home runs through seven games, which matches their total from the entire 2023 season. At this pace, Whitworth would hit roughly 40 home runs in 2024.

Portal Pirates: Quentin O'Connor and Connor Ashworth came to Whitworth in the offseason via the transfer portal, and both have been a huge boost to the pitching staff. O'Connor has pitched 10 innings in two outings, has a 1.80 ERA allowing two earned runs while striking out 10. Ashworth has pitched eight innings, has a 2.25 ERA allowing two earned runs and striking out 10.

Wear it: The Pirates have been the target of some wild pitches in 2024, they've been hit by pitch 22 times! That's 3^rd in the nation, behind only Millsaps and Pomona-Pitzer who've been hit 23 times each. In the Northwest Conference, no team has been hit more than 11 times. Jacob Doughty has been hit by pitch five times to lead conference. He was only hit once all last season, but his fortunes (or misfortunes) have changed.

The Coach: CJ Perry is in his sixth season as the Pirates head baseball coach, he began his tenure in 2018 and was named Northwest Conference Coach of the Year in 2019. Perry is a Spokane native and graduated from Whitworth University in 2012. Perry enters 2024 with a 68-68 record but led the Pirates to a conference title in 2019 with a 19-5 record.