THIS WEEK: Portland returns to Pilot Stadium and will host the Oregon State Beavers on Tues., May 4 at 3:00 p.m. Portland then heads to Malibu, Calif. for a three-game West Coast Conference series against the Pepperdine Waves, beginning on Fri., May 7 at 3:00 p.m. Both Saturday and Sunday games are slated for 1:00 p.m. starts.
A QUICK LOOK AT PORTLAND: The Pilots (9-33, 5-16 WCC) won their second straight home West Coast Conference series, taking two-of-three games from Saint Mary’s over the weekend. Portland won the first game 6-5 then split a Saturday doubleheader, falling 10-7 in game one and recording a thrilling 9-8 victory on a tenth inning, walk-off homer by Justin Pierce in the late contest. Matthew Peters threw his fourth complete game of the season to earn the win on Friday and improve to 3-7 on the season. Peters gave up three runs in the first inning, but settled down to allow just two more runs on four hits over the final eight innings. Jeffrey Crinklaw led the offensive assault, going 2-for-4 with a double, two runs and two RBI. Saint Mary’s racked up 17 hits in the early game Saturday and withstood a 13-hit effort from Portland to even the series. Travis Vetters finished the game 3-for-4 with four RBIs to lead the Pilot offensive. Gustaf Little had two hits an RBI and scored three runs out of the leadoff spot. Portland clinched the series with Pierce’s third home run of the season in the late game. The sophomore finished the game 3-for-5 with a double, homer and three runs scored. Given Kutz pitched six effective innings of relief, striking out seven and allowing just one run to keep the Pilots close. Sean Sargent gave up a solo homer in the top of the ninth tying the game, but recorded the next six outs and picked up his third win of the season.
Six different Pilots had a hit in each of the three weekend games. Pierce was 6-for-12 in the series, while Vetters went 5-for-14 with five RBI. Little also tallied five hits, four runs and drove in three more. Portland collectively batted .321 in the series and had two players hit a home run in the same game (Pierce and Kosach in the second game Saturday) for the fourth time this season.
Chris Sperry embarks on his seventh season as Portland's head coach with a 119-236-1 (.336) 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.
The 2003 Pilots finished with a 9-45-1 overall record, 4-25-1 in WCC action, taking fourth place of the West Division in the WCC. Kory Casto had a stellar junior season and took home all-WCC second-team honors. Casto was drafted in the third round of the MLB amateur draft (87th overall) to become the highest drafted WCC player last season. Brock Griffin concluded his four-year career in style, batting a career-high .282 for the season. Griffin was rewarded with a free agent contract with the Seattle Mariners.
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 OREGON STATE: The Beavers (27-14, 7-8 Pacific-10) went 1-2 in a three-game series against the Washington Huskies last weekend and have won eight of their last eleven games. Oregon State posts an impressive 12-4 road record entering Tuesday’s game. The Beavers won 7-3 on Friday and carried a one run lead into the top of the ninth inning on Saturday before the wheels came off. The Huskies scored 13 runs in the inning and won the game 26-14, shifting the momentum of the series. Washington then won 8-5 on Sunday to claim the series. Outfielder Aaron Matthews led the way at the plate going 7-for-13 with three homers, four runs and five RBI.
Matthews leads OSU with a .378 batting average on the season. He has 13 doubles, six triples, eight homers and 47 RBI. Six other Beavers are hitting better than .300 as the team is hitting a collective .303 on the season. OSU pitching has also been solid as the team has a combined 4.68 earned run average. Jake Postlewait is 9-2 in 12 starts with a 3.72 ERA. He has struck out 47 and opponents are hitting .264 against him. Kevin Gunderson has been a horse out of the bullpen tossing 39.0 innings, with a 5-2 record and a 2.77 ERA. OSU head coach Pat Casey, a former Pilot star and UP Hall of Famer, has the Beavers primed for possibly their first NCAA appearance since 1986.
THE OVERALL SERIES: The Beavers lead the overall series with Portland by a 120-53-1 margin. Last season, Oregon State defeated Portland six times, and the Beavers extended their winning streak over the Pilots to 10 games with a 25-4 blowout earlier this season.
PILOTS MATCH 2003 WIN TOTAL: With their ninth win on Saturday, Portland matched their 2003 season win total and have shown improvements both at the plate and on the mound. The team batting average is .270 this season compared to .258 last year, while the staff ERA is 7.37, down from the 8.50 mark in 2003. With a series win over the weekend, Portland has pulled within four games of second place in the WCC West Division. They have also matched the number of conference wins (five) from last year with nine more WCC games left to play. The Pilots are 5-16 in conference play, trailing both San Francisco and Santa Clara who post 9-12 league marks. Pepperdine is 14-7 and the odds on favorite to earn the automatic berth in the WCC Championship series for the West Division.
GOOD SERIES FOR HITTING STREAKS: Six Pilots had a hit in each of the three games against Saint Mary’s last weekend. Travis Vetters extended his hitting streak to nine games, and both Justin Pierce and Joe Watson moved to seven-game streaks. Colton Homme tacked on another three games with hits, giving him a season-high five game streak, while both Gustaf Little and Nik Kosach started new streaks with a hit in each game.
TAKING IT FOR THE TEAM: Sophomore second baseman Gustaf Little moved into sole possession of second place on Portland’s career hit by pitch chart after getting hit in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against Saint Mary’s. Little has been hit seven times this season and 18 times in his young career. He has quite a ways to go to reach first place though as Cory Lunde (1999-02) was beaned 44 times in his career.
NO FREE RIDES: Three Pilot hurlers have made it a point to not walk batters and are paced to finish in the top 10 of the single-season walks per game list. Freshman Given Kutz would rank first all-time if the season ended now, as he averages just 1.4 walks per nine innings. Sophomore Matthew Peters would place fifth at 1.8 per game and senior Kyle Corra’s 1.9 per contest would place him eighth. Eric Hull is currently at the top of the list, averaging 1.53 walks per game in the 2001 season.
HOT HITTING IN CONFERENCE GAMES: Five Pilots are batting better than .300 in conference play, led by Travis Vetters’ .393 average in league games. The average ranks Vetters sixth individually and currently stands as the highest conference batting average for any Pilot since Portland joined the WCC in 1996. As a team, the Pilots are hitting .285 in conference games.
VETTERS RACKING UP THE NUMBERS: Sophomore third baseman Travis Vetters leads Portland in a variety of hitting categories including batting average (.351), runs (28), hits (59), triples (3), RBI (28), slugging (.470) and on-base percentage (.392). He is tied for first in the WCC in triples and tenth in batting average. Vetters has 16 multiple-hit games and has driven in two or more runs on six occasions. The Port Orchard, Wash. native also is a threat to run with five stolen bases in six attempts.
ACE OF THE STAFF: Sophomore right-hander Matthew Peters has been the horse of the Pilot pitching staff all season long and tossed his fourth complete game of the year in Friday’s 6-5 win over Saint Mary’s. Peters has gone eight or more innings in seven of his eleven starts this year. Despite posting a 3-7 record, he ranks ninth in the WCC with a 4.23 earned run average. He leads the Pilot pitching staff in wins (3), complete games (4), innings pitched (78.2), strikeouts (42) and opponent’s batting average (.265). Peters recorded the only Portland shutout earlier this year, giving up just four hits in a 4-0 win over Dallas Baptist.
SEEING TRIPLE: The Pilots turned an unlikely triple play against Loyola Marymount in the second game of a doubleheader on Sat., April 10 at Pilot Stadium. With runners on first and second in the ninth inning, Pilot reliever Brian Cox pitched a ground ball off the bat of LMU’s Billy Lockin right to third baseman Travis Vetters. Vetters alertly stepped on third base and forced out LMU’s A.J. LaMonda at second with a strike to second baseman Gustaf Little. The relay to first was a little late, but it didn’t matter as LaMonda was charged with runner’s interference to make it a triple play.
THE HOME RUN TROT: Mike McRae’s midseason home run binge has him tops on the Portland roster for homers. McRae went yard five times in the span of seven games. Jeffrey Crinklaw has belted three dingers, while leadoff batter Gustaf Little has shown some pop with two of his own. Justin Pierce now has three homers after his walk-off heroics last weekend, and Nik Kosach joined the group after breaking some tree branches beyond the right field fence on Saturday. The Pilots have collectively hit 18 home runs on the season.
PRODUCTION AT THE TOP: Portland’s No.’s 1-4 hitters in the lineup are doing their duties. Gustaf Little has led off most of the season and is batting .310 with a .387 on-base percentage. Nik Kosach has hit second in 31 games this year and is batting .306 average with a .366 on-base percentage. Travis Vetters has been the everyday third baseman and constant in the third spot of the batting order. Vetters’ has played all but three games batting third and his .351 average leads the Pilots. Jeffrey Crinklaw is providing the clean-up production with 15 doubles and 18 RBI.
PACK YOUR BAGS: Portland has been doing lots of travelling this season as 33 games on the Pilot schedule are either on the road or at neutral sites. Portland participated in Phoenix, Ariz. at the Rawlings Oakland A’s Tournament, the Banana Belt Tournament (Lewiston, Idaho) and the Pepsi Johnny/Quik Classic (Fresno, Calif.), before beginning conference play with a three-game set at San Francisco.
PETERS NAMED WCC PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Sophomore right-hander Matthew Peters was named the West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week on April 12 after his complete game win over Loyola Marymount. Peters went the distance, allowing just two runs on seven hits and struck out four LMU batters. He threw 128 pitches and stranded six Lions’ runners in the final three innings to hold on for the victory.
A native of Las Vegas, Nev., Peters’ third complete game of the season was a pitching clinic as he worked both sides of the plate with precision. Four Pilot errors, including three in the final three innings, were overcome by Peters who ended the game with a called third strike and the go-ahead run at first base. He allowed only two leadoff hitters to reach, and limited LMU to just 2-for-17 with runners on base.
LITTLE NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Portland second baseman Gustaf Little was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week on March 15 after leading the Pilots to their first three wins of the 2004 season at the Pepsi/Johnny Quik Classic in Fresno. The sophomore from Portland, Ore. batted .423 (11-for-26) with a home run and four runs scored, while driving in five runs as the Pilots posted a 3-3 mark.
Little collected a hit in five of the six Portland games, going 5-for-5 in Portland’s win over Monmouth, and had a .500 on-base percentage through the six contests. He hit his second home run of the season against Dallas Baptist in the third place game of the tournament and did not commit an error while playing all six games at second base. Little becomes the first Portland player to claim Player of the Week honors this season.
PORTLAND APPROACHES WIN NO. 1,200 ALL-TIME: The Pilots are just two games away from winning the programs 1,200th game in 80 years of baseball. The current all-time record sits at 1,198-1,238-14 (.492).
HEAD COACH CHRIS SPERRY: Entering his seventh season, Sperry is the 21st head coach in school history. In six seasons, Sperry has a 119-236-1 (.336) career overall record and a 69-128-1 (.351) career WCC record. He has the third-most wins in school history and recorded his 100th career victory with an 8-5 win over San Diego on May 12, 2002 in San Diego, Calif.
Sperry is a member of the Lefty Gomez committee of the ABCA, which annually gives an award for outstanding achievement in college baseball.
PILOTS ON THE INTERNET: The University of Portland baseball team will have live stats via the internet for all home games during the 2004 season. Check out the Pilot games at: http://www.portlandpilots.com/livestats/baseball/xlive.htm.
WEEKLY/REGULAR-SEASON POST-GAME INTERVIEWS: Members of the media who wish to interview Head Coach Chris Sperry should contact Jason Brough, baseball SID at (503) 943-7439. Interviews with the athletes should also be arranged through Jason Brough.
Head Coach Chris Sperry and Portland players will be available for interviews outside the Portland dug out following a 10 minute cooling off period. The Portland sports information staff will gather interview requests immediately following the game. Box scores will be provided and faxed upon request.
