SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth baseball is back in action and will head for warmer weather on their first road trip of the season. The Pirates will head to Anaheim, California to visit Bethesda on Thursday before beginning a four-game series with Redlands on Friday.

Check the Whitworth baseball schedule for live links to his week's games.

The Pirates: Whitworth took two of three games from Eastern Oregon to open the season in Spokane. The Pirates played three seven-inning games against the Mountaineers on Saturday, all at Gonzaga's Patterson Baseball Complex and Steve Hertz field due to unplayable field conditions at Whitworth's Paul Merkel Field. The final game of the series on Sunday was canceled due to weather.

Eastern Oregon rallied to a 4-2 victory in game one. The Bucs took a 2-1 lead after RBI singles from Aidan Morrison and newcomer Carson Coffield in the third inning. The Mountaineers scored a run in the fifth on a double play, then put two more across the plate after a pair of two-out RBI singles.

The Pirates responded with a 6-5 win in game two for their first win of the season. Tyson Laugen hit a home run in the second inning and Yash Gupta added a two-run single in the fourth to give the Bucs a 3-1 lead. EOU battled back with a two-run double and an insurance run in the seventh. After two consecutive batters were hit by a pitch, Reed Gunnett delivered a pinch-hit walk-off home run to end the game.

Quentin O'Connor dominated on the mound in a 5-1 game three victory. O'Connor threw a seven-inning complete game with seven hits, one run, and 11 strikeouts. Ty Komoda started the scoring in the third inning with a solo home run before Dominic Giusti added a two-run single. The Pirates scored two more runs in the fifth to close the scoring.

The Opponents: Bethesda plays Whitworth in a stand-alone game on Thursday. The Lion Angels are 2-11 to start the season and are coming off a 5-2 win at Westcliff University. While 11 of its 13 games have official statistics, Bethesda averages 4.3 runs per game and hits .223 as a team. On the mound, the Lion Angels have a .330 batting average against and a 9.99 team ERA.

Redlands is 6-3 to start its season and hosts the Pirates for a 4-game series. Game one will be played on Friday, followed by a double header on Saturday and the final game on Sunday. The Bulldogs have hit the ball well to start the season, demonstrated by a .311 team batting average and an average of eight runs per game. Graduate first baseman Mark Kirkland leads the team with a .400 batting average and 14 RBIs on the season. Senior first baseman Nathan Buchan will likely pitch against the Pirates, who has two wins and a 3.63 ERA in two starts. Whitworth lost its last matchup with Redlands 11-4 in 2023 and is 1-2 against the Bulldogs since 2017.

Strength in Numbers: The Pirates have a big 2025 roster packed with 45 players. 12 freshman and 13 transfers have joined the team, and each one may have an impact this season. Through the first three games of the season, 17 position players made a start, 12 have at least one hit, nine have scored a run, and seven have RBIs. Whitworth's depth with be a significant strength throughout the season as impact plays could come from up and down the roster.

The Coach: CJ Perry is now in his eighth season as the Pirates head coach and has a record of 120-134 in his tenure. He's led Whitworth to the NWC Tournament in three of his seven seasons and has a tournament record of 5-6. 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 host Puget Sound in a three-game series to open NWC play on March 1-2 at Paul Merkel Field.