PORTLAND, Ore.- University of Portland sophomore right-hander Matthew Peters pitched a masterful nine innings to lead the Pilots past the Loyola Marymount Lions, 3-2 Thursday afternoon at Pilot Stadium. Peters went head-to-head with the LMU senior ace Will Quaglieri and battled through four Pilot errors to salvage the win. Portland improves to 5-25 overall, 2-8 in the WCC. The Lions drop to 19-14-1 overall, 10-3 in league play but hold on to the top spot in the Coast Division of the WCC.

“Peters is our toughest guy on the mound,” said Portland head coach Chris Sperry. “He has shown that every time out and our guys feel like we are going to win once he steps on the mound.”

Portland provided early support for their ace with a run in each of the first three innings. Sophomore second baseman Gustaf Little hit a leadoff double and scored on Jeffrey Crinklaw’s two-out single to center field, putting the Pilots up 1-0.

LMU evened the score in the second after Joe Frazee doubled and eventually scored on a single by Anthony Santana. Portland regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning as Colton Homme started the sequence with a leadoff single. Justin Pierce replaced Homme at first with a fielder’s choice, then stole second on the next pitch. Freshman shortstop Jesse Rodgers’ two-out single through the right side brought Pierce home.

“We scored two runs with two outs, something we haven’t done particularly well this year,” noted Sperry. “Getting those today was huge, and with Peters pitching, three runs is usually enough.”

Travis Vetters singled in the third and advanced two bases when Quaglieri’s pickoff attempt was thrown in the dirt and past first baseman Jonathan Oller. Crinklaw’s sacrifice fly made it a 3-1 lead for Portland.

Quaglieri retired 14 of the next 15 batters he faced, while picking off Billy Krause who reached on an infield single in the fourth to keep LMU in the game. Nik Kosach broke through with an eighth inning single for Portland, but Quaglieri would not allow another run.

LMU made it 3-2 in the top of the sixth as Kyle Mura doubled and scored on Jonathan Higashi’s groundout. But Peters put the clamps down in the final three innings despite some defensive lapses down the stretch. The Las Vegas, Nev. native stranded six LMU runners in the final three innings, after three Pilot errors extended each frame.

In the eighth, the Lions had runners at first and second with one out, but Portland caught a break as LMU sent the runners on a 3-2 pitch that Santana lined right at left fielder Jeffrey Crinklaw. Crinklaw reached high to make the catch then made a perfect one-hop throw to second base for the double play to end the inning.

Peters took care of business on his own in the ninth, striking out Clint McGill looking to leave runners on first and second. Peters painted the outside corner with a fastball to record his third complete game in eight starts and lowered his ERA to 3.16. He improved to 2-5 on the season, allowing seven hits and striking out four. The sophomore has tossed at least eight innings in six contests this season. Quaglieri dropped to 3-4, allowed eight hits, struck out five and didn’t walk a batter as he also went the distance.

Portland distributed their hits evenly as eight different players tallied knocks. The Pilots left four runners on base while the Lions stranded 11.

The teams will conclude the three-game WCC series on Saturday with a doubleheader. The early game will begin at 11:00 a.m. at Pilot Stadium and pit Portland’s Sean Sargent against LMU’s Stephen Kahn, the reigning WCC Pitcher of the Week. Kyle Corra will start the late game for Pilot, while the Lions will give the ball to Jeff Stevens.