PORTLAND - The Whitman College baseball team opened its 2026 campaign in dramatic fashion on Saturday, sweeping a season-opening doubleheader at Warner Pacific University with a 10-9 win in the opener and a 6-2, 10-inning victory in game two.
Game 1
Whitman built an early lead, then survived a furious late charge from the Knights to take the opener 10-9. The Blues struck for three runs in the third inning, highlighted by a two-run home run from Halen Otte after T.J. Buehring's stolen base set up the scoring opportunity.​
In the sixth, Whitman extended the margin when Landon Runyan ripped a two-run triple to center, pushing the advantage to 5-0. Warner Pacific answered with two runs in the bottom half and then erupted for six in the seventh to momentarily grab an 8-6 lead.​
The Blues had a response, as Wyatt Miyamoto delivered the swing of the game in the eighth, launching a three-run homer to put Whitman back on top 9-8. An RBI single from Sam Mieszkowski-Lapping in the ninth added key insurance, and although the Knights scored once more in the bottom of the frame, Garen Geoghegan recorded the final outs to lock down the one-run win.​
Game 2
Pitching and defense took center stage in game two, with Whitman grinding out a 6-2 win thanks to a four-run explosion in the 10th inning. Starter Oliver Brown and reliever Hawthorne Moody combined to hold Warner Pacific to two runs over the first nine frames, scattering nine hits while stranding runners in scoring position throughout the afternoon.​​
Offensively, the Blues broke through in the fifth when Buehring drilled a two-out, two-run double to right, scoring Miyamoto and Luke Malzewski for a 2-1 lead. Warner Pacific tied it in the sixth, and the teams traded zeros into extras behind steady relief work on both sides.​​
Whitman finally took control in the 10th, loading the bases on singles by Nathan Wilson and Malzewski and a hit-by-pitch to Buehring before a bases-loaded walk to Nate Petz forced in the go-ahead run.Â
Another walk to Otte, a hit-by-pitch of Mieszkowski-Lapping and a free pass drawn by Runyan pushed three more runs across, giving the Blues all the cushion they needed. Freshman Luke Ivanoff then closed the door in the bottom half, striking out two in a scoreless frame to seal the sweep and earn the save.​
The two teams close out their series on Sunday with another doubleheader beginning at 11:00 a.m.
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