THIS WEEK: The University of Portland baseball team takes on British Columbia this Tues., Feb. 24 at 2:00 p.m.

A QUICK LOOK AT PORTLAND: The Pilots (0-6) let one slip away to Lewis & Clark on Sat., Feb. 21 as sophomore right-hander Matthew Peters pitched a gem and came away with a no decision for Portland. The Pioneers came away with a 2-1 win in 11 innings. Peters carried a shutout into the ninth inning, but Portland scored just one run of their own allowing the Pioneers to stay alive. Peters was spotted for a run in the top of the ninth to send the game to extra innings, and the Pioneers won in the eleventh as Justin McCloskey walked and came around to score an unearned run. Peters went an impressive 9.0 innings, allowing just the one run on four hits. He walked one batter and had a strikeout. Offensively, the Pilots tallied just eight hits, all singles, while advancing only one runner to second base in the final six frames. The teams met again on Sun., Feb. 22 and Lewis & Clark recorded another comeback win, beating Portland 7-5 at Pilot Stadium. The Pioneers scored three runs in the top of the eighth after trailing 5-4. Pilot freshman Sean Sargent took the loss after giving up four runs in one inning of work. Sophomore Trent Kristjanson closed out the last two innings, but the damage was done. Travis Vetters recorded three hits in four at bats for the Pilots, including a double and three RBI. Trevor Hahn went 1-for-3 with two runs scored as five other Pilots totaled one hit each in the game. At 0-6, the 2004 team ties the 1955 Pilot squad for the worst start in school history.

Chris Sperry embarks on his seventh season as Portland's head coach with a 110-209-1 (.345) career record. He is the third winningest head coach in Pilot history. Sperry returns six position player starters and 17 letterwinners overall to the 2004 roster. Almost the entire pitching staff returns, as all five primary starters from last season are back as well as three relievers. Ten newcomers should provide a boost both on the mound and at the plate.

In a vote of the league's eight head coaches, the Pilots are picked to finish in fourth-place of the WCC-West, and eighth place overall.

ABOUT BRITISH COLUMBIA: The Thunderbirds are 6-6 on the season after playing in a pair of tournaments, including the Rawlings/Oakland A’s Tourney that Portland competed in to open the season. UBC posted an impressive 23-2 win over Northwestern and also dealt Pacific (Calif.) a 9-7 loss in Phoenix. Last weekend, UBC fell to tournament host Lewis-Clark State at the LC State Tournament by a slim 3-2 margin. Also in the tournament, the Thunderbirds edged Northwest Nazarene and Oregon Tech in a pair of one-run games.

Brent Murray leads the Thunderbirds at the plate with a .423 average this season. Mark Capone is batting .367 and leads the team with 13 RBI, while Johnny Yiu has knocked in 11 runs.

On the mound, Brad Ashman has made three starts and is 2-0 with a 3.32 ERA in 19.0 innings of work. Ashman has 16 strikeouts and walked just one batter. As a team, UBC is batting .274 and has an ERA of 6.00.

RODGERS ON A ROLL: Freshman shortstop Jesse Rodgers earned a spot in the lineup because of his glove, but is showing he is a very capable hitter early on this season. Rodgers currently leads the Pilots with a .350 batting average (7-for-20). He also extended his hitting streak to six games with a single in the fourth inning on Sunday.

PETERS FINDING HIS STRIDE: Sophomore right-hander Matthew Peters lowered his ERA to 2.51 after throwing 9.0 innings and giving up just one run last Saturday. In two starts, Peters has tossed 14.1 innings, allowing 11 hits, three walks and he has struck out three. Opponents are batting just .212 against the hard-throwing Las Vegas, Nev. native.

VETTERS NOTCHES 3-HIT GAME: Third baseman Travis Vetters tallied his 15th career multi-hit game after going 3-for-4 against Lewis and Clark on Sunday. It was the fifth time that the sophomore has recorded three hits in a game in his brief career on The Bluff. Vetters leads the Pilots with five runs batted in and is tied for the team lead with seven hits.