Whitworth softball team comes together after assistant coach’s heart attack

Whitworth’s softball season got a jolt before it even started when the team nearly lost an assistant coach in late January to a heart attack.

But the Pirates (25-7, 16-4) played through adversity as the coach improved. They currently reside atop the Northwest Conference. Whitworth now heads into a weekend series against fourth-place Linfield (22-9, 11-8), which has won the league title for the past 11 seasons.

“The girls are super confident going into this weekend,” coach Cristal Brown said.

On the way to the first game of the season in late January, assistant coach Randy Clark suffered a heart attack at Sea-Tac Airport. Brown rushed to Clark’s aid and left assistant Bob Castle, best known for his radio work, to lead the team in California, where they went 7-3.

“That kind of brought everyone together,” Brown said of the medical emergency. “As hard as it is to play softball when something serious is going on, they wanted to do it for Randy.”

Clark, 62, had two more heart attacks at the hospital and was shocked 12 times.

During his stay, Clark said the doctors had sedated him, but he clearly remembers Brown telling him the Pirates won their first game.

“I couldn’t respond, but I remember it clearly,” Clark said. “At the time, it made me feel really good. It was a big deal.”

Since then, Clark has had a lot to feel good about.

The Pirates have been led by the emergence of a second dominating pitcher to a lineup that can smash big hits throughout the order.

Whitworth’s season batting average is .338 while the Pirates’ pitchers are holding their opponents to .229.

Pitcher Madi Perez was the only freshman named to the all-conference team last year. But Perez (13-4, 2.09 ERA) has been outpitched, statistically, by fellow sophomore Makayla Lefever (12-2, 1.40 ERA).

“Makayla had an injury last year that didn’t allow her to show her full potential,” Brown said. “They have combined to give us two aces, which has been a difference-maker for us.”

With the two pitchers making it difficult for opponent hitters, the Pirates’ bats have delivered.

“We have hitters in the seven and eight positions that can hit home runs and win games for us,” Brown said. “Chelsey Hayes has been huge. She’s a freshman and is in the top five in the league in batting average (.415).”

Whitworth went into a four-game series last weekend tied in the standings with George Fox. But Hayes hit a grand slam in one game and sophomore Shannon Wessel hit a game-winning home run in another game to allow Whitworth to go 3-1 on the series and build a two-game lead in the conference.

Tessa Matthews (.378) has improved as a sophomore. Kayla Batastini (.337, five home runs, 20 RBIs) had two home runs against George Fox and junior Megan John (.372, 3 HR, 20 RBIs) also homered.

Peyton McMahon, a senior from Deer Park, leads the team with a .646 slugging percentage, six home runs and 26 RBIs.

“At any point in our lineup, we are confident that someone can step up and give us a big blow,” Brown said.

The series with George Fox now puts Whitworth in the driver’s seat going forward.

“This past weekend was huge to allow us to control our own destiny,” Brown said. “It makes going into this weekend a lot easier.”