April 13 recap: Whitman College's baseball team tops Whitworth twice

Whitman College's NCAA Division III baseball team was victorious Saturday, April 13, on the road in Spokane a Northwest Conference doubleheader as the Blues upended Whitworth in the opener 10-4 before taking the second game 14-5.

Victories upped the Blues league record so far this season to 12-5, ranking them atop the nine-team standings.

Among highlights for the Blues, they reported afterwards, was Halen Otte finishing the day 5-for-10 with a home run.

Otte's homer and Beck Maguire's pair of run-scoring doubles highlighted Whitman's game one win. Maguire and Nick Teng led the Blues while Garrett Runyan added two hits, two RBI and two doubles.

Julien Hernandez (5-1) picked up the win with another fine outing. He gave up only one earned run on five hits with eight strikeouts in seven complete innings. Quentin O'Conner (5-2) was tagged with the loss after pitching to two hitters in the fourth. He finished with a final line of six runs on four hits in three innings.

The Blues took advantage of Pirate pitching to the tune of five runs in the fourth inning to take a 9-2 lead and full command of the game. After Runyan drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, Teng cleared the bases with a three-run double to break the game open.

The bottom of the order provided the bulk of the offense for the Bucs. Jacob Daughty had two hits and two runs, and Aaron Colgston added two hits, one run and two RBI.

The offense continued in the second game led by a monster performance from Jack Bickerton. He doubled and clubbed two homeruns while scoring three and posting an incredible eight RBI. Otte added another three hits with Nate Korahais recording two more and scoring a run.

Garza led the Bucs with three hits, one run and an RBI, and Giust, Bennett and Mahler each recorded a pair of hits off the bench.

Jack Hostetler (3-2) had more than enough run support in picking up the win. He tossed seven complete innings and struck out nine while allowing three runs on nine hits. It was another short outing for Whitworth starting pitching as Leary (3-2) gave up nine runs and lasted only two and one-third innings.

The Blues plated a run in the first inning and exploded for six more in the second. Maguire drove home a pair of runs to kick off the scoring in the second before back-to-back two-run doubles from Bickerton and Runyan put the Blues way in front at 7-0.

The rout continued over the next two innings. Bickerton drove in another two runs with a base hit in the third, then crushed a three-run homer one inning later to increase the lead to 14-0.

Whitworth finally put runs on the board in the later innings, but the damage had been done and the result all but decided.

TREASURE VALLEY 14-4, WALLA WALLA COMMUNITY COLLEGE 9-0 — The Warriors came away with back-to-back losses on the road down to Ontario, Oregon, at a Northwest Athletic Conference East Region doubleheader.

Defeats made the Warriors divisional record so far this season 1-11, ranking them last out of the eight teams.

Among highlights for the Warriors, as U-B reporter Roy Elia relayed, was Caedyn Colford finishing the day 3-for-8 while teammate Brandon Faire was 2-for-7 with a homer and three runs batted in.

Faire went 2-for-4 in game one with two runs scored. One of Faire's hits was his homer — a solo shot in the fourth inning.

Colford, like Faire, was 2-for-4. He tallied one run.

Kayden Sandow had two hits in four at-bats for the Warriors in game two.

College women's lacrosse

GEORGE FOX 19, WHITMAN 14 — The Blues fell short on their home turf in Walla Walla at James Hayner Field for a Northwest Conference match.

Defeat dropped Blues league record so far this season to 3-4, ranking them fourth out of the seven teams.

Among highlights for the Blues, they reported afterwards, was Madeleine Sherry scoring a game-high five goals.

The Blues (7-5 overall) found themselves even with the Bruins (8-3, 7-0 NWC) at halftime. They rallied from an early deficit to score seven goals in the second quarter and take a 9-9 score into halftime.

The Blues remained in the hunt for much of the second half. Maddie Jones scored to make it a one-goal game with 7:34 to play in the third quarter, and after Izzy Eggerling's goal nearly five minutes into the fourth, Whitman trailed only 15-12.

George Fox then played lockdown defense for the remainder of the match, not allowing another goal while pulling away late for the win.

Lana Davis led the Bruins with five goals while posting two assists. Marena Tharpe scored three and added a game-high four assists.

Renn Novak did a stellar job in goal for the Blues, posting 13 saves in a full 60 minutes of action. Emma Webb made four saves in her full game of work.

College women's tennis

WHITMAN 9, PUGET SOUND 0 — The Blues dominated action on campus in Walla Walla at a Northwest Conference dual meet.

Victory put the Blues league record at 7-0, clinching the regular season NWC title.

Postseason competition April 20-21 is next for the Blues, and they will host the NWC Championships as its top seed.

The Blues all but sealed their Saturday win with a clean sweep in doubles play, they reported afterwards, with the No. 1 and No. 2 court matches finishing just moments apart. The team of Teleya Blunt and Arianna Castellanos took down UPS's Krishna Agrawal and Kaylee Yamada 8-1, and Carter and Jin Yu won their No. 2 doubles match by the same score to ensure Whitman of the lead heading to singles.

Whitman had very little trouble in singles, sweeping on all courts which included seven sets won at love. Erica Mock and Yu were the first two matches completed to clinch the victory. Mock blanked Hyla Chatham at the four 6-0, 6-0 before Yu won her second match of the day in a 6-0, 6-0 win at second singles.

College men's tennis

WHITMAN 7, PUGET SOUND 2 — The Blues prevailed on the road in Tacoma at a Northwest Conference dual.

Victory upped the Blues league record so far this year to 6-1, finishing their regular season NWC schedule ranked second among the eight teams. 

The postseason NWC Championships, set for April 20-21 and hosted by first-place George Fox, will have the Blues competing over in Newberg, Oregon.

Among highlights for the Blues, they reported afterwards, were teammates Charles Rush and Artem Manov each winning in singles before first teaming up for a win at No. 1 doubles. The duo set the tone for the match, beating the Logger pair of Jason Rowe and Will Church 8-3. Whitman ensured itself of the lead through doubles when Diego Guzman and Noah Baker won their match on the No. 3 court to put the Blues up two points.

The Blues secured the win with the first three singles results all showing wins for Whitman. Hanri Lou, inserted into the lineup after a late scratch, opened with a solid 6-3, 6-0 win on the No. 6 court. Manov won his second match with a 6-0, 6-3 sweep at the three before Lucas Huang clinched the win with a 6-4, 6-1 win on the No. 3 court.