April 17-19, 2009 • Portland, Ore. • Joe Etzel Field (1,000)
Series: GON leads 105-71
Live Audio/Stats: portlandpilots.com
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday, April 17 - 3:00 p.m.
POR - Kyle Kraus (R, Fr., 3-3, 2.54)*
GON - Matt Fields (R, Sr., 5-1, 2.52)
Saturday, April 18 - 1:00 p.m.
POR - Scott Burris (L, So., 4-2, 3.74)
GON - AJ Proszek (R, Sr., 1-0, 1.74)
Sunday, April 19 - 1:00 p.m.
POR - TBA
GON - Steven Ames (R, Jr., 6-0, 3.66)
*(R/L, Yr., W-L, ERA)
This Week in Pilots Baseball...
The Portland Pilots (18-16, 2-7 WCC), who are fresh off a 12-8 win at Oregon on Tuesday, return home this weekend to host the No. 22 Gonzaga Bulldogs (24-10, 6-3 WCC) for a three-game West Coast Conference series at Joe Etzel Field. The Pilots and Bulldogs will play at 3:00 p.m. on Friday and at 1:00 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
Catch All of the Action at Home Live
A free audio broadcast for all baseball home games this season is available at 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 2009. In addition, UP provides live, in-game statistics for all home games, which can also be accessed on portlandpilots.com.
A Brief Look Back
The Pilots swept the three-game season series with the Oregon Ducks with a 12-8 win on Tuesday at PK Park in Eugene. It’s believed to be the first three-game series sweep over Oregon in UP program history. The Pilots, who trailed 7-3 after four innings, outscored the Ducks 9-1 during the final five frames en route to the win. Sophomore OF Tyler Thompson had a three-run home run for Portland, while sophomore OF Craig Smith went 3-for-5 with four RBI’s. Freshman LHP Keeler Brynteson held the Ducks to one run on five hits and a walk in 5.0 innings of relief to pick up his first save at UP. He struck out three.
Last weekend, the Pilots lost three games at home by a combined four runs to the Santa Clara Broncos. SCU won 6-4 on Friday before taking both games (6-5, 1-0) of a double header on Saturday. The Pilots got the tying run on base in the ninth inning during all three games.
Freshman RHP Kyle Kraus lowered his ERA to 2.54, despite picking up the loss during Saturday’s second game. Kraus scattered seven hits in 7.0 innings, while striking out two. Junior C Rocky Gale hit .400 during the weekend and belted his first home run of 2009.
About Gonzaga
The Bulldogs, who are No. 22 in the current Baseball America rankings, defeated Washington State on Tuesday and took two of three at home from 21st-ranked San Diego last weekend. GU had 23 hits during its 17-6 win over WSU.
Gonzaga is batting .292 as a team and is led by junior C Tyson Van Winkle, who is hitting .366. Junior OF Mark Castellitto is batting .297 with team highs of six home runs and 30 RBI’s. Current WCC Pitcher of the Week Steven Ames, a junior right-hander, is a perfect 6-0 this season with an ERA of 3.66. Senior RHP Matt Fields is 5-1 with a 2.52 ERA, while senior RHP AJ Proszek has three saves and a 1.74 ERA. GU’s staff ERA is 4.25.
Mark Machtolf is in his sixth season as head coach at Gonzaga. The Bulldogs went 30-23 last season and finished fifth in the WCC with a 10-10 league mark. 15 letterwinners and seven position starters returned.
The Pilots/Bulldogs Series
Gonzaga, which used to be a part of the Pac-10 North Division with Portland, leads the all-time series against the Pilots 105-71. Last season, the Bulldogs claimed three meetings with the Pilots in Spokane, Wash., while UP topped GU in a non-conference game in Fresno, Calif. Gonzaga has won 12 of the last 14 games in the series.
A Brief Look Ahead
After two straight weekends of home WCC baseball, the Pilots end the month of April on the road. First, the Pilots travel to Seattle, Wash., for a non-conference game against the Washington Huskies on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m.
Portland then heads to Southern California for a three-game WCC series against the 24th-ranked San Diego Toreros. First pitch of the series opener is set for 3:00 p.m. on Friday, April 24.
That’s Offensive
The Pilots are off to torrid start at the plate this season, batting .299 entering the weekend. The Pilots have seven players batting .300 or better, with sophomore 2B Riley Henricks leading the way at .365. In 2008, Portland combined to hit .256 as a team. The highest team batting average for UP this decade was .295 during the 2000 season.
In addition, UP is stealing bases at an unprecedented rate. Portland, which had only 16 stolen bases last season, has already swiped 28 bases in 2009. Sophomore OF Craig Smith has stolen a team-high eight bases.
Here’s the Pitch
While Portland’s offensive is rolling, it’s pitching has been just as solid. UP’s team ERA of 4.93 is almost a half of a run better than the opposition’s, while Portland’s staff has combined to hold hitters to a .280 average. The Pilots feature six pitchers that boast an ERA of less than 4.00, led by freshman Kyle Kraus’ ERA of 2.54, which ranks second in the conference. Kraus is also 3-3 and has UP’s only complete game this season.
Sophomore Scott Burris is 4-2 with a 3.74 ERA. The lefty is holding opposing hitters to a measly .229 batting average. Fellow sophomore Zach Varce leads the WCC with six saves, has an ERA of 3.00 and is holding the opposition to a .234 batting average.
Redshirt-freshman Keeler Brynteson, a lefty, has made the most of his time on the hill this season. He leads the team with 17 appearances, is 1-0 with a save, has a 3.24 ERA and is holding opposing hitters to a staff-best .198 average.
Sibling Rivalry
Senior OF Bryant Kraus and younger brother Kyle, who is a freshman right-handed pitcher, have emerged as Portland’s leaders at the plate and on the hill. The elder Kraus is batting .351 with team highs of seven home runs, two triples, 31 RBI’s, 74 total bases, 17 walks, a .638 slugging percentage and a .474 on-base percentage. He also has 30 runs, 40 hits, nine doubles and has two games this year with four RBI’s. Kraus has seven multi-RBI games overall and 12 multi-hit games. He also had a career-long 12-game hitting streak earlier this season.
The younger Kraus has matched Bryant every step up the way, emerging as one of Portland’s most consistent starters during his first season on The Bluff. Kraus is second in the WCC with a 2.54 ERA and leads the team with 56.2 innings pitched. He’s 3-3 overall, is holding opposing hitters to a .251 average and has worked at least seven innings during six of his eight collegiate starts. On March 12, Kraus picked up his first complete game as the Pilots defeated reigning national champion and 24th-ranked Fresno State 4-2 in Fresno. He allowed two runs on six hits and a walk, while striking out five.
Hit Me with Your Best Shot
Bryant Kraus has been hit by a pitch 15 times this season, which is the third most in a single season in program history and ranks fifth in the country. He needs to get hit just four more times to break the single-season program record of 18. His 27 career hit-by-pitch’s ranks fourth on UP’s all-time charts.
Life of Riley
After a somewhat slow start to the season, sophomore 2B Riley Henricks has turned it up, raising his batting average to a team-high .365. Since his batting average dipped to a season-low .111 on March 3, Henricks is batting .412 (40-for-97) in 25 games. He also leads the team with eight multi-RBI games (8) and ranks second in multi-hit games (13), hits (42) and RBI’s (24). He also has seven doubles and three homers and has been playing wicked defense in the field. Earlier this season, Henricks knocked in all four runs during Portland’s 4-2 win at No. 24 Fresno State. He has seven games this season with three hits.
As a freshman last season, Henricks led the Pilots in most offensive categories. He was named to the All-WCC Team, the WCC All-Freshman Team and the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Team.
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 on Feb. 20, 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.
He hasn’t slowed down and currently leads the team in a plethora of offensive categories. Kauppila leads the squad with 34 runs, 49 hits, 14 doubles, 16 multi-hit games and nine sacrifices bunts, which ranks 19th in the country. He’s also batting .348 with two home runs and 12 RBI’s. He has four games with three hits this season and one game with four.
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.
