TACOMA, Wash. – Whitworth and Puget Sound split a Northwest Conference season opening baseball doubleheader on Saturday afternoon with the visiting Pirates winning the opener and the host Loggers holding on for a win in the nightcap.
Ty Komoda hit two home runs on the day for Whitworth Whitworth, now 5-8 overall and 1-1 in the NWC. Puget Sound (8-2, 1-1) suffered only its second loss of the season. The teams will complete the series with a single game on Sunday at Noon.
Game 1 – Whitworth 10, Puget Sound 2
The Pirates hit three home runs and got a strong outing from a pair of pitchers to pull away for an easy win in the series opener.
Caleb Gray got Whitworth on the board with a solo home run in the top of the first inning.
After the Loggers loaded the bases with no one out in the bottom of the second, Dillon Hartman got Jim O'Brien to ground into a double play, limiting the damage to a single run.
Puget Sound took its only lead in the top of the fourth, but Nate Gray Jr. answered with a solo home run in the top of the fifth to retie the contest. Whitworth jumped ahead with four runs in the top of the sixth. Austin Paul's infield single scored the first run and Gray Jr. added a two-run single later in the inning.
Ty Komoda's three-run home run in the eighth put the game out of reach. The Bucs tacked on one more in the ninth as Isaac Lee picked up his second RBI of the game.
Gray Jr. finished 3 for 3 with three RBIs and a run scored while hitting out of the ninth spot in the order. Komoda, Lee and Carson Coffield each had a pair of hits in the game.
Hartman threw six strong innings to pick up his first win of the season. He allowed two runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Luke Stutesman qualified for a save after coming into the game with the Pirates holding a 6-2 lead and finishing with three scoreless innings, allowing only a single hit.
Charlie Decker (1-1) suffered the loss for the Loggers, allowing four runs on seven hits and a pair of walks in 5.2 innings. Three Puget Sound pitchers followed in relief.
Game 2 – Puget Sound 7, Whitworth 4
The Loggers jumped out to a 6-0 lead before the Pirates got on the board. Whitworth was able to get within two runs, but could not complete the comeback.
Armand Lettiere had a bases-loaded, three-run double in the bottom of the second inning to get Puget Sound on the board. Ryan Spero added a solo home run in the third for a 4-0 lead. The Loggers appeared to put the game away in the bottom of the fifth when Preston Crocket drilled a ball deep off the wall that went for a two-run inside-the-park home run.
Whitworth scored in the sixth when Carson Coffield had an RBI double and Isaac Lee followed with a sacrifice fly. Komodo drilled a two-run shot to left in the seventh to trim the deficit to 6-4.
Kellen Krebs hit a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh to give the Loggers some breathing room.
Dylan Huntsman (1-1) suffered the loss for the Pirates after allowing four runs on six hits in 4.0 innings. Three Pirates followed in relief, with Luke Nikunen getting two innings (one run).
Evan Moll (3-0) got the pitching victory for Puget Sound, throwing five shutout innings and allowing only one hit and three walks. Zach Robman pitched 2.2 perfect innings for his second save.
