by Nathan Webber
Landon Scott, Whitworth baseball’s senior third baseman, is already having an All-Northwest Conference type of a season. Through 10 games, Scott is leading the team in batting average, on-base percentage, runs scored and hits, and he is leading Whitworth in several other categories as well. Scott is also in the top five in the Northwest Conference in batting average and RBIs.
“His numbers speak for themselves,” head coach Dan Ramsay said. “His career batting average is over .420 and you don’t see that number of batting average in baseball in a season, let alone a career.”
In fact, entering this past weekend, Scott’s career batting average sits at .427. He also has 188 hits, 31 doubles, four triples, 14 HRs, 97 RBIs, 118 runs scored and has 58 walks in his Pirate career.
Scott, an economics major from Kennewick, Wash., has played the game of baseball since the age of 4.
“I started playing tee ball when I was 4,” Scott said. “Since then it’s been every year, every summer that I have been playing.”
After Scott helped Kennewick High School win a state championship his senior season, he had a lot of options to continue his baseball career, ultimately choosing Whitworth for playing time among other reasons.
“I could have gone to WSU to be a preferred walk-on, but I wanted to go somewhere that was better academically,” Scott said. “I got financial aid from Whitworth and it was somewhere where I could start for four years.”
While at Whitworth, Scott has excelled not only on the field but has achieved success through his schoolwork and through student government.
“He’s one of those guys that has done a ton on the field and also in the classroom,” Ramsay said. “He was an All-District selection last year for his GPA. He has also been the intramural coordinator for Whitworth this year. He does a great job representing the baseball team as a whole.”
Scott’s four years playing baseball for the Bucs have been a roller coaster ride, from a team his freshman year that went 10-26 to a team that finished fifth in the NWC with a 20-20 record last season, to this year with a team that is currently third in the NWC.
“Starting off my freshman year the program was kind of down,” Scott said. “We had a good recruiting class the last couple of years and last year we got to .500. This year we have senior leadership with freshmen and sophomore talent. We’re 6-3-1 so far, should be 7-3, but overall it’s going to be a good season.”
Scott knows a thing or two about good seasons. He earned first team All-Northwest Conference his sophomore and junior seasons, and was named first team NCAA All-Region as a sophomore and second team All-Region his junior year.
“It’s been nice having his bat in the middle of the lineup,” Ramsay said.
Even more impressive than the numbers he puts up on the field is his leadership.
“He is a great teammate; he is there for everybody,” senior pitcher Nick Combo said. “The leadership he brings to the field, especially for the young guys, is great for our team.”
Coach Ramsay also said he thinks Scott’s leadership is having an impact on the team.
“He has become a team-first guy and buying into the team approach,” Ramsay said. “He will sacrifice an at-bat to move up the runners if he has to. He wants to win a championship, that’s what it all comes back to.”
Contact Nathan Webber at nathanwebber13@my.whitworth.edu.