After two tough losses in a doubleheader last Saturday, April, 29 against Whitworth University, Whitman Baseball bounced back with a dominating performance in what marked a very successful final home game for the graduating seniors.

In the 9-0 win, two senior pitchers combined for the team’s second shutout of the year. Seniors Justin Weeks and Tyler Grisdale combined for the effort, both of whom have played all four years at Whitman. Weeks went eight innings to set up Grisdale for an emphatic last inning. Grisdale shut the door on the Pirates.

The offense gave the pitchers more than enough run support in an offensive outburst. Infielder, senior Chris Andrews notched his first three hit game of the year, and added two RBIs to a performance that was backed by good hitting up and down the Missionary lineup. Leadoff hitter, junior Kyle Buckham also added three hits to raise his average to .317 on the year. Shortstop, junior Cam Young, who ranks among the top hitters in the conference with a .387 batting average, got two hits and a run scored. Jimmy Madden had a pair of doubles and RBIs for the Missionaries in a historic game.

The win for the Missionaries marked the highest win total in program history, surpassing teams from the early 2000s. The milestone is a great feat for the Missionary team that has struggled in recent years, and is a testament to the change Interim Head Baseball Coach Sean Kinney has brought to the program. Still, the team has room for improvement looking ahead to next year.

Next week the team will play two exhibition games against conference opponents in Seattle and Tacoma. The exhibitions were programmed to add games to the Missionary schedule to strengthen the team and also to prepare them for the playoffs—if they make it. The Whitman program now expects success and has shown flashes of dominance in a 36 game season so far. If Whitman can put it all together next year, they can and will be competing for a conference championship and ticket to the postseason.

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