PORTLAND, Ore. --- After scoring four late runs, the Portland Pilots had the tying run on base when the San Diego Toreros recorded the final out to win a West Coast Conference baseball game 8-6 on Saturday afternoon at Joe Etzel Field. The Pilots scored twice in the eighth and twice in the ninth and had the tying run on second when Torero reliever Matt Couch induced a game-ending ground out to first base.

Portland drops its seventh straight to fall to 10-20 overall, 0-5 in the WCC. San Diego improves to 22-11 (4-1 WCC).

Trailing 8-2 in the bottom of the eighth, the Pilots put two runs on the board. After senior Travis Vetters led off the inning with a single, sophomore Cory Wiltshire followed with an RBI double to right-center field. Junior Jesse Rodgers then scored Wiltshire with a single up the middle to make it 8-4.

With USD starter Josh Butler still on the hill in the ninth, senior Nik Kosach, sophomore Danny Meier and senior Matthew Peters all singled to load the bases. Vetters followed with the fourth straight single that scored Kosach and Meier. Couch then relieved Butler to face Wiltshire with nobody out. Wiltshire promptly sent a deep fly to right that was knocked down by the wind and caught just short of the warning track by right fielder Shane Buschini. After a Rodgers’ ground out advanced Peters and Vetters to third and second, respectively, Powell pinch hit for junior Andrew Wrisley. Couch recorded his third save of the season and second in two games as Powell grounded out to first base.

Butler (8-2), who allowed six runs on 15 hits while striking out two in eight innings, picked up the win for San Diego.

Portland starter Sean Sargent (3-6) lasted 6.1 innings and gave up seven runs, six earned, on nine hits, a walk and a strike out. Sophomore reliever Chris Siegfried allowed a run before sophomores Brian Yoakum and Meier, who started the game at third base, held the Toreros scoreless during the final 2.1 innings.

San Diego took an early lead with three runs in the top of the first. Jordan Abruzzo knocked in a pair with a single up the middle. A few batters later, Kevin Snyder picked up an RBI with a perfectly executed suicide squeeze play that scored Abruzzo.

Portland responded with one run in the second and another in the third. Pat Geraghty knocked in Vetters with a ground out in the second inning and Peters scored Meier with a single in the third.

USD added a run in the second before scoring four in the seventh to take an 8-2 lead. The Toreros sent ten hitters to the plate in the seventh inning and scored the four runs on four hits.

Vetters, Peters and Meier all had three hits for the game as Portland out-hit San Diego 15-11. Meier scored twice, Peters had an RBI and Vetters knocked in two and also scored two times. Wiltshire was 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run, while Rodgers went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

Abruzzo had three hits in five at-bats for San Diego. He knocked in three and score three times.

Portland and San Diego play the series finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Joe Etzel Field.