Whitworth baseball drops first game of NCAA Tournament 5-1 to La Verne

The Whitworth Pirates’ first NCAA Tournament game in nine years didn’t go as planned.

Whitworth surrendered five runs in the first four innings and lost 5-1 to the regional host La Verne Leopards at Ben Hines Field in La Verne, California.

Nathan Perry paced the ninth-ranked Leopards (35-9) with three RBIs.

The Pirates (29-17) will play Pomona-Pitzer in an elimination game Saturday morning with the winner playing again in the afternoon.