SPOKANE, Wash.—Lewis & Clark College baseball is aiming to win their second Northwest Conference Tournament in as many appearances, when they travel to Whitworth University for the 2026 NWC Tournament. This year's tournament will be played as a single-elimination tournament, due to Lewis & Clark hosting Commencement on Saturday and the University of Puget Sound hosting their Commencement on Sunday. 
 
OPENING MATCHUP 
 
#3 Lewis & Clark College vs. #2 Linfield University 
(Lewis & Clark 22-18, NWC 14-10) 
(Linfield University 23-17, NWC 15-9) 
 
GAME SCHEDULE – SINGLE ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT
 
Friday, May 8
 
Game 1: #3 Lewis & Clark vs. #2 Linfield University – 9:30 a.m.
Game 2: #4 University of Puget Sound vs. #1 Whitworth University – 12:30 p.m.
Game 3: NWC Championship Game – Winner of Game 1 vs Winner of Game 2 – 3:30 p.m. 
 
Ticketing Info: Tickets are good for all three games 
$15 for Adults. 
$12 for Military and Seniors. 
$10 for Youth (Children 5 and Under are Free). 
TICKET LINK
 
Live Coverage: There will be live stats and video (through Flo Sports) available for every game. Links will be available on golcathletics.com.
 
NWC Tournament History 
 
Lewis & Clark will be making their second-ever NWC Tournament appearance. The River Otters finished in second place in the 2023 NWC Standings to qualify for the NWC Tournament. Lewis & Clark defeated #3 Willamette University 10-4 in their opener, before falling to host #1 Pacific University 9-3 in the winner's bracket. 
 
From there, Lewis & Clark won three-straight games to win their first-ever NWC Tournament Title. The River Otters defeated #4 Whitman College 6-5 behind a three-RBI game from junior Jakob Ghammachi. In the first game of the NWC Championship Series, sophomore Brennan Davis hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning, to lift Lewis & Clark past #1 Pacific 6-4. The River Otters raced out to a 7-0 lead in a winner-take-all contest and held on for a 10-7 win over the #1 Boxers to claim the NWC Title. 
 
2026 SEASON SERIES 
 
#2 Lewis & Clark split the season-series with #3 Linfield. The River Otters defeated the Wildcats 10-2 in a mid-week, non-conference tilt on March 31. Junior Michael Aikawa hit a grand slam in the second inning to help Lewis & Clark race out to a 6-0 lead and Lewis & Clark never looked back. 
 
This past weekend, Linfield won the NWC series 2-1. The Wildcats won a pitcher's duel in game one with a 1-0 victory. Junior Owen Eisen allowed one run over eight innings but the Wildcats used a Josh Mansur home run to earn the win. In game two, Linfield raced out to a 5-1 lead, before Lewis & Clark scored two runs in the sixth and three in the ninth to force extra innings. Linfield's Ely Kennel hit a walk-off, two-run homer in the 11^thinning to cap off the doubleheader. Lewis & Clark avoided the sweep and secured the three seed with an 8-6 win on Sunday. Sophomore Jacob Shannon-Wilkerson hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning and the River Otters bullpen allowed two runs over 5.1 innings to post an 8-6 win. 
 
SCOUTING THE RIVER OTTERS 
 
After being picked to finish sixth in the NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll, Lewis & Clark exceeded expectations by winning five of their eight conference series. The River Otters swept Willamette University (four games) and Whitman College and earned 2-1 series win over #4 Puget Sound, fifth-place Pacific University and seventh-place Pacific Lutheran University. They enter the weekend with the seventh-most wins in program history (22) and own the program record for strikeouts in a single-season (301). 
 
This year's lineup is led by a veteran core paced by First Team All-Conference selection Bret Potter. Potter leads the team with his .390 average, .463 on-base percentage, 64 hits and four outfield assists. The center fielder/right fielder also serves as the team's closer and has posted a 1.56 ERA and five saves in 17.1 innings pitched. Junior Michael Aikawa (Third Team) and sophomore Will Michelman (Second Team) also earned spots on the NWC All-Conference Team. Aikawa leads the team with six home runs and 40 RBI and Michelman has added a team-high nine doubles and is slugging a team-best .516. Junior catcher Evyn Lewis (.349), senior catcher/DH Joaquin Sandoval (.328) and second baseman Eli Steinhaus (.318) are all hitting .300 or above. As a team, Lewis & Clark sits second in the conference in batting average (.299) and on-base percentage (.399) and tied for first in fielding percentage (.970). 
 
Lewis & Clark has relied on a small but effective group of pitchers to lead the team this Spring. Eisen has been Lewis & Clark's top starting pitcher and paces the team in wins (6-3), inning pitched (71.0) and starts (14). The River Otters are 4-0 in his last four starts and he has thrown at least six innings in all four outings. Sophomores Sam Burchi and Dillon Foster and first year Calvin Martinez have served as the team's second, third and fourth starting pitchers. Burchi is 2-2 on the season and struck out a career-high 11 batters in five innings pitched against Puget Sound in late March. The River Otters won Foster's final three starts of the year and Martinez put together his best start of the year against Puget Sound (five innings, two earned runs). Lewis & Clark will rely heavily on the quartet of sophomore Matt Stanislavsky, senior Nate Kerr, Potter and junior Connor Broschard out of the pen. Stanislavsky ranks sixth in the nation in K/9 ratio (13.94) and owns a 3.76 ERA in 18 outings. Kerr began the year as a starter but has proven to be more effective since moving to the pen. He has a posted a 1.35 ERA since over his last seven outings and allowed one run in five innings over the weekend against Linfield. Potter has given up just three earned runs all season and posted a two-inning save on Sunday. Broschard has made five outings since the beginning of April and has allowed just three runs in 11 innings during that span. The River Otters sit second in the conference in strikeouts (301) and fourth in ERA (6.69). 
 
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS 
 
Linfield is making their third NWC Tournament appearance since 2022. The Wildcats fell in the 2022 NWC Title Game to Pacific and went 0-2 last year as the number three seed last season. They are aiming for their second NWC Tournament Title and first since 2017. Linfield was projected to finish fifth in the NWC Preseason Coaches' Poll, but the Wildcats won their first four NWC series of the year and ultimately picked up six out of eight series. They were especially strong at Roy Helser Field, where Linfield went 16-7 overall and 10-2 in conference play. 
 
The Wildcats have relied heavily on their pitching staff that ranks 74^th in NCAA DIII in ERA (5.00), 54^th in walks allowed per nine innings (3.95) and 87^th in WHIP (1.54). They lead the entire conference in ERA by 0.72 runs per game and rank among the leaders in shutouts (2 – 1^st), opponents batting average (.281 – 3^rd) and fewest walks (154 – 3^rd). Sophomore Colton Ouellette (2^nd Team) and juniors Zach Hampson (3^rd Team) and Matthew Tacheny (3^rd Team) all earned All-Conference honors. Ouellette has moved from the bullpen into the number two starter role and owns a 3-3 record with a 3.56 ERA and a team-high 50 strikeouts in 48 innings pitched. Ouellette allowed one run over four innings in game two on Saturday against Lewis & Clark. Tacheny is the team's number one starter and has racked up a 2-3 record with a 3.75 ERA in 69.2 innings pitched. He struck out five over five scoreless innings in game one on Saturday. Hampson is the team's top reliever. He sports a 6-0 record with five saves and a 1.96 ERA in 41.1 innings pitched. 
 
Offensively, only two regulars are hitting .300 or above for Linfield. Kennel earned First Team All-Conference honors after leading the team with a .318 average, nine doubles, six home runs and 33 RBI. The senior second baseman hit the walk-off home run in game two on Saturday. Sophomore Rylan Gullard sits second on the team with a .307 average and leads the team with 28 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. The Wildcats rank towards the middle or bottom of the conference in most offensive categories, but sit tied for first with 24 sac bunts on the season. 
 
#4 Puget Sound at #1 Whitworth 
 
The University of Puget Sound is making their second-straight NWC Tournament appearance and second in program history. Last season, the #3 Loggers upset #2 Whitworth 7-6 in 11 innings in their first-ever NWC Tournament game, before falling 7-2 to #1 Pacific and 7-1 to #2 Whitworth. This year's Loggers team earned their fourth and final spot in the NWC Tournament with a win over rivals Pacific Lutheran University in their second-to-last game of the regular season. Puget Sound ranks tied for first in the NWC in fielding percentage (.970) and first in opponents' batting average against (.275). The Loggers went 1-2 against Whitworth in a home conference series. Sophomore catcher Matt Churchill (First Team) leads six Loggers on the All-Conference team, after he hit 13 home runs and drove in 45. 
 
Whitworth University is aiming to win their second-straight NWC Tournament Title and third since 2015. Since the NWC reinstated the four-team tournament, The Pirates have made eight appearances and earned a trip to the NWC Championship Series five times. Last year, Whitworth dropped their opener to Puget Sound, before winning four-straight games to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. This year's Pirates went 20-4 in conference play and won every NWC series with the exception of Willamette University (1-2). They currently rank 46^th in the NPI and could potentially earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if they don't win the NWC Tournament Title. Whitworth owns the top offense in the NWC. They lead the conference with 353 runs, 50 homers, a .410 on-base percentage and .471 slugging percentage. Whitworth also sits second in the conference with a 5.72 ERA. Senior outfielder Kyle Memarian was named the NWC Player of the Year and led seven players on the All-Conference team. Memarian is hitting a team-best .396 with 59 hits, 57 runs scored, nine homers, 22 extra-base hits and 36 RBI. Six regulars are hitting .300 or above. 
 
WHAT'S NEXT 
 
The winner of the Northwest Conference Tournament will represent the NWC in the NCAA DIII Baseball Tournament. The field will be announced on Monday at 9 a.m. Pacific.