Whitworth softball aims to take next step while hosting regional tournament

The Whitworth softball team won its first conference championship last year, but even with 31 wins the Pirates were left off the “at large” list for the NCAA Division III tournament.

Whitworth sought out a tougher schedule this season before pillaging the Northwest Conference again for only its second championship in school history. But the Pirates (29-13) went 1-2 in the conference tournament and again left their fate to the selection committee.

This time, Whitworth was not only selected to play, it was also tabbed for the first time to host the four-team regional.

“Knowing our conference is so tough, you can’t bank on winning the conference tournament,” Pirates coach Cristal Brown said.

Brown scheduled several teams out of the region and played several perennial powerhouses.

“And we beat some of those teams. Then it was hard for the committee to ignore us,” she said.

With the at-large berth, the Pirates earned the chance to take on conference foes Linfield (29-13) and George Fox (30-13). The No. 1 seed is Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (34-8-1) from Claremont, Calif.

Whitworth opens against Linfield at at 1 p.m. Friday and all four play through Sunday until three teams lose twice.

On the season, the Wildcats hold a 3-2 advantage against the Pirates with each team alternating victories.

“They had the last one on us by a run. So it’s our turn,” Brown said. “I’m sure they will try to argue it. They will come out swinging.”

The Pirates will likely rely on ace pitcher Makayla Lefever (19-4, 1.98 ERA), but the team recently got junior hurler Madi Perez (18-9, 3.05 ERA) back from injury.

“(Perez) should be good to go. She’s a 100 percent, which is huge,” Brown said.

Seniors Megan John and Alyssa Hall (University High) said they are thrilled to be able to stay home and play in front of friends and family.

“One thing we talked about at the beginning of the year was not leaving it up to chance and taking care of business at the tournament,” John said. “Since that didn’t happen, it’s so cool that we have this chance.”

Hall said a healthy Perez takes pitching pressure of Lefever to carry the entire load.

“We need both of our pitchers,” she said. “Having these couple of weeks in between has been super beneficial because both have been able to rest up and get healthy.”

The berth is the only second time (2006) in school history that the Pirates have played in the tournament.

“We are excited,” Brown said. “But it’s not good enough that we are here. We want to make it the first time that Whitworth gets a win in the tournament and makes it to a super regional.”