Feb. 26-28, 2009 • Provo, Utah • Larry H. Miller Field (2,204)
Series: POR leads 6-5 • Live Stats: byucougars.com
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Thursday, Feb. 26 - 2:00 p.m.
POR - Mark Triolo (R, Sr., 1-0, 3.00)*
BYU - Jeremy Toole (R, Jr., 0-1, 9.64)
Friday, Feb. 27 - 2:00 p.m.
POR - Scott Burris (L, So., 1-0, 0.00)
BYU - Blake Torgerson (R, Jr., 0-1, 1.59)
Saturday, Feb. 28 - 12:00 p.m.
POR - Matthew Lange (R, Sr., 0-0, 1.80)
BYU - Adam Miller (R, 0-0, 3.20)
*(R/L, Yr., W-L, ERA)
This Week in Pilots Baseball...
The Portland Pilots (2-1) head to Utah this week for their first road trip of the 2009 season. The Pilots will be in Provo, Utah, for a three-game series against the Brigham Young Cougars (1-4) at Larry H. Miller Field. UP and BYU are set to play at 2:00 p.m. (PT) on both Thursday and Friday, while Saturday’s game is set for 12:00 p.m.
Catch All of the Action at Home Live
Portland will once again provide a free audio broadcast for all baseball home games this season on portlandpilots.com. Simply click on the ‘Multimedia” tab at the top of UP’s main athletics website, or visit the baseball schedule on portlandpilots.com to access audio for every Pilot home game in 2008. In addition, UP will provide live, in-game statistics for all home games, which can also be accessed on portlandpilots.com.
A Brief Look Back
The Pilots opened the season by taking two of three from Utah Valley at Joe Etzel Field last weekend. On Friday, the Pilots cruised to a 4-2 win behind the solid pitching of Mark Triolo. The senior RHP struck out nine in 6.0 innings, surrendered five hits, allowed two earned runs and walked just one. Senior DH/1B Chase Powell knocked in three runs and freshman SS Kris Kauppila led off Portland’s season with a solo home run in his first collegiate at-bat in the bottom of the first inning.
Sophomore LHP Scott Burris was dominant on the hill in the second game as the Pilots won 7-2 on Saturday. During his first collegiate start, Burris allowed just three hits and one unearned run in 7.0 innings of work. He struck out four and walked three. Senior OF Bryant Kraus, senior 1B Cort Carpenter and sophomore 2B Riley Henricks all left the yard during the win.
The Wolverines salvaged a win in the third game, coming back for a 6-5 victory in 11 innings. UP managed just six hits in the loss. Kraus had three RBI’s, while his younger brother Kyle, a freshman, pitched 5.2 innings of relief. The RHP struck out four, had no walks and allowed one run.
About BYU
The Cougars opened the season at the Chick-fil-A Classic in Stillwater, Okla., where BYU was 1-4. The Cougars dropped four straight in Stillwater after beginning the season with an 11-10 win over Manhattan on Friday, Feb. 20. Three of BYU’s four losses were to ranked teams.
Junior OF Sean McNaughton has begun the season on a tear, batting .476 (10-for-21) with two home runs, a double, a triple and seven RBI’s. Senior OF Michael Bowen and sophomore INF Stetson Banks are also batting .400 or better, at .438 and .400, respectively. Freshman RHP Marc Oslund has made a team-high three appearances and picked up BYU’s only win thus far. Opposing teams are batting .363 against Cougar hurlers this season.
Vance Law is in his 10th season as head coach of BYU. Last season, the Cougars were 22-36 overall and finished fourth in the Mountain West Conference with a 10-14 league mark. 24 letterwinners and all nine position starters returned this season. Five newcomers joined the program.
The Pilots/Cougars Series
Portland owns a 6-5 edge in the all-time series with Brigham Young. The Pilots and Cougars opened the 2008 season with a three-game series at Joe Etzel Field. The Pilots bounced back from a 4-2 series-opening loss in 11 innings to win the final two. The third game also went to extra innings, won by UP 8-7 in 10. The Pilots claimed the middle game 12-1.
A Brief Look Ahead
The Pilots will continue their journey with a three-game series against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds early next week in Cedar City. UP and SUU are set to play a double-header on Monday, March 2 which begins at 11:00 a.m. (PT). Tuesday’s series finale is also scheduled for 11:00 a.m.
Following its swing through Utah, Portland returns home for a three-game set against UC Davis at Joe Etzel Field. The Pilots and Aggies will play at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, March 6, at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday and at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Leading Off
Freshman SS Kris Kauppila wasted little time getting acclimated to NCAA DI baseball, going yard in his first collegiate at-bat. After the Pilots retired the Utah Valley Wolverines in order in the top half of their season opener last Friday, Kauppila led off the bottom half of the inning with a blast that hit the scoreboard beyond the left-field fence. The Glendale, Calif., native finished the weekend 5-for-11 (.455) with two RBI’s, a home run, a double and three runs scored as the Pilots took two of three from the Wolverines.
Kings of the Hill
The Portland pitching staff showed perhaps a preview of what’s to come this season with a solid performance last weekend against Utah Valley. UP hurlers allowed 10 runs during the three-game set, only five of which were earned. The Pilot staff combined for a 1.55 earned run average, while holding UVU hitters to a .215 batting average. Portland pitchers also struck out 25 and walked just seven in 29.0 total innings.
Starters Mark Triolo, a senior RHP, and Scott Burris, a sophomore LHP, both picked up wins during the weekend. Triolo worked 6.0 innings, allowing just two earned runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out a career-high nine. Burris was just as effective in the first game on Saturday, not allowing an earned run in 7.0 innings. He struck out four and surrendered just three hits.
Portland’s bullpen was solid as well. Sophomore RHP Brent Miller and junior LHP Ed Wakefield both had scoreless outings, while freshman RHP Kyle Kraus worked 5.2 innings during his collegiate debut out of the pen. During the second game against Utah Valley on Saturday, Kraus struck out four, allowed just one run and didn’t walk a batter. Miller picked up his first collegiate save on Friday after not allowing a hit 2.0 innings, while striking out a pair.
The Inaugural Rose City Invitational
The Portland Pilots will host the first ever Rose City Invitational at historic PGE Park in downtown Portland March 20-22. The three-day, eight-game event will feature the Pilots, Oregon Ducks, Washington Huskies and Hawaii Warriors.
Washington and Hawaii will face each other in the tournament’s first game on Friday, March 20 at 12:00 p.m. The Pilots will follow with a game against Hawaii at 3:30 p.m. and a match-up with the Ducks at 7:00 p.m. Saturday’s schedule begins with an Oregon-Washington tilt at 11:00 a.m. The Ducks then face Hawaii at 2:30 p.m. before the Pilots and Huskies conclude the day at 6:00 p.m.
Sunday features two more games (12:00 p.m./3:30 p.m.), which will be determined by the results of the first two days.
Single-day tickets, which will be honored for the entire day, are available for $10 for adults and $7 for youth (high school and younger) and UP students. Tournament-long tickets, which are good all three days, can be purchased for $20 for adults and $15 for youth and UP students.
Fans can purchase tickets at all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com, the UP box office or by calling 1-800-745-3000.
2009 WCC Preseason Poll
San Diego and Pepperdine were picked as favorites to win this year’s WCC regular season title in the 2009 preseason baseball poll, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. The Portland Pilots were selected to finish eighth. San Diego and Pepperdine both received 45 points, with the Toreros receiving four first place votes to three for the Waves. Gonzaga received the last remaining first place vote.
