By: Caden Frank
SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth softball will head west this weekend for a four-game series against Pacific Lutheran in Tacoma. It's a series that could be the difference between a conference tournament birth and a regular season elimination.
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The Pirates: Whitworth (13-19, 9-11 NWC) swiped three of four from George Fox last weekend, they've now won six of eight. For the second straight weekend, the Pirates split Saturday's doubleheader before taking both on Sunday to win the series. The offense continued to show life, posting 10+ hits in all four games (including 16 hits in the series opener).
In game one, the Pirates overcame an early 5-2 deficit after Bruins' power hitter Sharon Tomei cranked an early two-out grand slam (Tomei hit three home runs on the weekend). The Pirates built a comeback with runs in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth inning. Trailing 6-5 in the fifth, Taylor Hofheins and Reagan Ellis drove in RBI-singles to center and left field to give the Pirates a one-run lead. Jazz Johnson added another RBI-single in the sixth before Julia Dillon stole home. Corinne Vasiloff finished off the Bruins in the final two innings to preserve the 9-6 win. Whitworth looked strong in the early frames of game two taking a 4-0 lead into the third inning, but the Bruins rattled off seven unanswered runs including home runs by Kiley Harris and Tomei down the stretch of a 7-5 win. On Sunday, Whitworth clinched the series with two close wins. Montoya set the tone in game three with a first inning home run, Ellis followed that with RBI-singles in the second and fourth before Nine made it 4-0 with a double down the left field line to score Dillon. In the sixth Tomei put the Bruins on the board and cut the deficit in half with a two-run blast. They managed to get runners on the corners with two outs in the seventh, but Reiss McIntyre stepped in to retire the final batter in a 4-2 win. In the series finale the Pirates pulled off a 5-4 win in extra innings, in part because of two crucial errors from GFU. Trailing 4-3 in the fifth, Nine found her way home on a two-out error to tie the game. Lightning struck twice as Jaedyn Dron scored the go-ahead run in the eighth after an errant throw to first.
Series Top Performers: It was a strong offensive series for Whitworth across the board, but Reagan Ellis, Jazz Johnson, and Mackenzie Nine were among the best. Ellis went 9-14 with a double, four RBIs, and three runs herself. Johnson hit 7-14 including a double and a triple while driving in three RBIs, and Nine was 6-10 with three doubles and a pair of RBIs. On the mound, Vasiloff earned three wins pitching 15.2 innings allowing eight earned runs while striking out six.
Big Picture: Whitworth is in the thick of NWC tournament contention with eight games to go. The Pirates are tied for fifth with Willamette (9-11), one game behind Pacific Lutheran (10-10) and two behind George Fox. Whitworth and PLU face off this weekend, Willamette faces last-place Pacific before closing at Linfield, and George Fox faces the tall task of Linfield and Lewis & Clark, the top two teams in the conference, to close the season.
The Opponent: Pacific Lutheran (15-17, 10-10 NWC) sits in fourth place in the standings after sweeping Pacific last weekend. The Lutes looked sharp, earning two shutouts in the process. With one game separating the Lutes and Pirates, this weekend will be crucial in determining how the final standings shake out.
PLU is led by senior catcher Casey Wright; she leads the lineup in average (.376), OPS (1.142), hits (35), home runs (8) and slugging percentage (.699). Wright is top ten in the NWC in most of those categories, top five in home runs and slugging percentage. Grad student Rachael Rhinehart has pitched 76.2 innings with an ERA of 4.58, but freshman Paige Wilson has been an excellent compliment allowing just 19 earned runs this season, she's got an ERA of 3.69. As a team, PLU is fourth in the NWC in average (.280) and runs per game (4.59), and on-base percentage (.347). They've struck out 164 times (second highest in the conference) but belted 25 home runs (third-most in the NWC). The Lutes started conference play 0-5 but have found their footing recently. They are 8-4 in the last 12 meetings with Whitworth. The Lutes are coached by Traci Barrett who's been head coach since 2019, she guided PLU to a 30-14 record in 2022, and is 11-7 against the Pirates in her career.
Senior Power: Haley Montoya and Jessica Rusconi each homered this weekend as part of Whitworth's three-win effort. One of the two leads Whitworth in every hitting category (among eligible hitters). Montoya leads Whitworth in average (.333), hits (38), triples (2), and total bases (53). Rusconi leads Whitworth in OPS (.953), doubles (12), home runs (3), RBIs (20), slugging percentage (.581), and walks (6).
The 3-run rule: Looking at Whitworth's schedule, a few runs here and there have made all the difference. When the Pirates score at least four runs, they are 13-7 on the season, but when they manage just three runs or less, they are 0-12.
Leaderboard watch: Haley Montoya is on several leaderboards including hits (fifth – 38), stolen bases (sixth – 13), and even triples (tied-third – 2). Jessica Rusconi is second in the NWC with 12 doubles. On the mound, Corinne Vasiloff leads the conference with 108.2 innings pitched, she's fifth with 69 strikeouts, and sixth in the NWC with eight wins. Momi Lyman is 10th in the conference with an ERA of 4.03.
The Coach: Bob Castle took over as Whitworth's head coach in 2019 after serving as an assistant on staff from 2015-2018 where he was apart of three Northwest Conference titles. Castle earned his first winning season as head coach in 2022 with a 25-17 record, he's looking to guide Whitworth to it's fifth straight NWC tournament appearance this season.
