FOREST GROVE, Ore. – Whitworth University captured its first Northwest Conference Baseball Tournament title in a decade on Saturday, defeating Pacific University in back-to-back games to secure the 2025 championship title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The Pirates, seeded second, completed a four-game run through the losers’ bracket after dropping their opening game. The Pirates defeated Linfield and Puget Sound on Friday before sweeping top-seeded Pacific in Saturday’s doubleheader.
In game one, Pacific jumped out to a 5-0 lead through two innings, led by a two-run double from Matt Gibbs and a two-run home run by Davis Koester. Whitworth answered with a four-run fifth inning, tying the game on a three-run double by Caleb Gray and taking the lead in the sixth on a fielder’s choice and an RBI single. The Pirates added an insurance run in the ninth. Freshman Nathaniel Kurano earned the win with 6.1 innings of relief, while Seth Mahler recorded the save.
Gray finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Pacific’s Javin Hamura went 3-for-4 with two runs, but the Boxers left 12 runners on base and were held scoreless over the final seven innings.
In the deciding game, Whitworth freshman Rylen Blair allowed one run on four hits over eight innings in just his second start of the season. Gray gave Whitworth an early lead with a solo home run in the first inning. The Pirates added a run in the second, two in the fifth, and three more in the eighth, taking advantage of Pacific miscues and 10 walks. Koester drove in Pacific’s only run with an RBI single in the eighth.
Whitworth scored seven runs on seven hits and held Pacific to just one run in the finale. Mahler pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the championship.
The tournament title is Whitworth’s first since the NWC held its inaugural championship in 2015. The Pirates advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time since 2016. The full tournament field will be announced Monday at 9:00 a.m. (PDT).