The Western Washington University club baseball team finished up its series with Central Washington University by winning 15-1 on Sunday morning at Squalicum High School. The Vikings swept the Wildcats in three games over the weekend.
The Vikings outscored the Wildcats 27-5 in the three games, with a combined 1.66 earned run average (ERA) from the pitching staff.
The Vikings started their season at 2-6, but a four-game winning streak with wins over the University of Oregon and Central Washington University brings their record back to .500 at 6-6.
Pitching has been “a big strength to have” according to assistant player coach J.D. Parvankin. Starting pitchers during their winning streak have been going deep into starts, helping the Vikings manage tighter contests.
“We’ve definitely played in a lot of close games,” sophomore pitcher Mathias King said. “But I think that’s what’s going to make us better in the long run. Winning those one- or two-run games when they really matter.”
King was named the Northern Pacific Conference Pitcher of the Week after pitching a complete game against Oregon, April 7. In that game he allowed just one unearned run and struck out seven batters.
“We can always rely on our pitchers to go out there and throw strikes. Even if they’re not, they’re still making competitive pitches,” Parvankin said. “They will get swings and misses from opposing players and even if they’re struggling with locating [their pitches] they’ll go out there and fight.”
Senior pitcher Alex Hitchcock came out of the bullpen on Saturday against the Wildcats. It was his first appearance in four weeks. He tossed two innings and struck out four with only one hit allowed.
"It was good to get out [there]," Hitchcock said. "Warm weather always feels good on the arm and then I was good at finding the [strike] zone."
Mitchell Berquist is the reigning Northern Pacific Conference Player of the Week. In the series against Oregon he went 6 for 9 with two extra-base hits and two stolen bases.
Berquist leads the Vikings with 14 hits on the season, sporting a .438 batting average and a .656 slugging percentage, both of which are second on the Vikings among players with at least 25 plate-appearances.
"When everybody gets closer, we all play more together," Berquist said.
The Vikings' odds to make the Northern Pacific Championship is slim. They would need a series of scenarios to play out, including them winning out, and Oregon State University losing out.
The team is focused on developing the young nucleus of players into a competitive team for the coming years, as only three players on the current roster are graduating seniors.
“We got a lot of new guys this year,” Berquist said. “So we’re still feeling each other out a little bit, but I think we have a lot of potential in that regard, and we just need to continue to string it together.”
The Vikings continue their regular season this weekend at Joe Martin Field against the University of Washington Huskies with two games on Saturday, April 20, and one on Sunday, April 21.
Cameron Riggers is a sports and recreation reporter for The Front. He writes about the Western Hockey League for soundofhockey.com and can often be found at a rink around the Pacific Northwest. You can follow his work on Twitter/X @cammriggs and on Instagram @cammriggs1 and can reach him at CameronRiggers.thefront@gmail.com.
