College baseball: Top-seeded Pacific holds off Whitworth in NWC Tournament opener

Jordan Hara’s ninth-inning RBI single helped top-seeded Pacific top upset-minded Whitworth 5-4 in the first round of the Northwest Conference Tournament on Thursday in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Trailing 4-1 in the eighth inning, the Pirates (16-24) scored three unanswered runs – capped by a Cameron Ley RBI double in the ninth – to tie the game. Whitworth had the chance to take the lead in the frame, but the next two batters pooped out and struck out to strand runners on second and third.

Chase Anderson then hit a lead-off double for the Boxers (29-12) in the bottom of the ninth before scoring on Hara’s hit.

Whitworth starter Dylan Bishop allowed four runs on eight hits with two strikeouts in six innings. Reliever Brett Thomas gave up just three hits in 2 2/3 innings, but earned the loss.

Whitworth faces Pacific Lutheran in an elimination game Friday.