April 3-5, 2009 • Los Angeles, Calif. • Page Stadium (600)
Series: LMU leads 38-18
Live Audio/Stats: lmulions.com
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday, April 3 - 3:00 p.m.
POR - Mark Triolo (R, Sr., 3-3, 3.86)*
LMU- Lee Roberts (R, Sr., 2-0, 2.57)
Saturday, April 4 - 1:00 p.m.
POR - Scott Burris (L, So., 4-0, 2.23)
LMU - Ernie Cho (R, Sr., 1-2, 6.32)
Sunday, April 5 - 1:00 p.m.
POR - Kyle Kraus (R, Fr., 3-2, 2.81)
LMU - TBA
*(R/L, Yr., W-L, ERA)
This Week in Pilots Baseball...
The Portland Pilots (16-11, 1-2 WCC), who have won back-to-back games, head to Los Angeles, Calif., this weekend for a West Coast Conference series with the Loyola Marymount Lions (17-13, 3-0 WCC) at George C. Page Stadium. The Pilots and Lions are set to play at 3:00 p.m. on Friday and at 1:00 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
A Brief Look Back
On Tuesday, the Pilots notched their second win over the Oregon Ducks this season with a 3-1 victory at PK Park in Eugene, Ore. Senior Cort Carpenter and sophomore Riley Henricks hit back-to-back solo home runs in the fifth inning and four UP pitchers combined to hold the Ducks to four hits. Two of Oregon’s hits were bunt singles. Junior LHP Ed Wakefield, in a rare start, picked up the win after holding the Ducks scoreless on one hit in 4.0 innings of work.
Last weekend, the Pilots avoided a sweep at Saint Mary’s with a 3-1 win on Sunday. Freshman RHP Kyle Kraus tossed another gem, going seven strong innings. He scattered five hits and five walks while allowing just one run. Kyle’s brother Bryant, a senior OF, hit a home run and a double during the win.
The Gaels opened the series with a 10-0 win on Friday before taking the second game 10-9 on Saturday. The Pilots scored twice in the top of the ninth inning of Saturday’s loss and had the tying run on third base when the final two outs were recorded.
Recapping the Rose City
During the weekend of March 20-22, the Pilots welcomed the Oregon Ducks, Washington Huskies and Hawaii Rainbows to town for the inaugural Rose City Invitational at PGE Park in downtown Portland. Hawaii took the tourney title with a 3-1 record. UP was second at 2-2, UW was also 2-2 and finished third, while the Ducks went 1-3. The Pilots lost the title game 9-8 to Hawaii in 12 innings on Sunday, March 22, while Washington defeated Oregon 5-1 on to claim third place at the eight-game, three day tourney.
Portland opened the tournament by pounding the Rainbows 13-2 on Friday, March 20. Redshirt-freshman outfielder Garrett Queen had a career day, coming up a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. He knocked in six runs and hit a home run to deep left-center field that bounced off the upper scoreboard. Hurlers Mark Triolo and Ed Wakefield combined to hold Hawaii to just five hits. On Friday night, sophomores Scott Burris and Zach Varce combined on a three-hit, 4-0 shutout of the Ducks. Freshman DH Beau Fraser had two RBI’s during the win. Also on Friday, Hawaii defeated UW 9-7 in 10 innings.
On Saturday, March 21, Hawaii topped Oregon 4-1 before the Ducks bounced back for a 6-4 win over UW. On Saturday night, Washington scored twice in the top of the eighth inning and added a run in the ninth for a 5-2 win over UP.
About LMU
The Lions have won nine of their last ten games after losing 10 straight games. LMU swept Santa Clara last weekend and is tied with San Diego for first place in the WCC. This week, the Lions lost to UC Irvine and defeated UCLA.
The Lions are hitting .299 as a team, while allowing their opponents to bat .302. Junior OF Angelo Songco leads seven LMU players hitting .300 or better with a .371 average, seven home runs and 29 RBI’s. On the hill, sophomore right-handed reliever Chris Eusebio leads the way with a 3-2 record and a 2.42 ERA. Senior RHP Lee Roberts and freshman RHP Ramiro Carreon are both 2-0 with ERA’s of 2.57 and 4.81, respectively. The Lions’ team ERA is 5.59.
Head coach Jason Gill is in his first season at the helm of the LMU program. Gill spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach at Oregon and Cal State Fullerton. The Lions returned 18 letterwinners and four position starters from a team that went 23-32 overall and 7-14 (7th) in the WCC last season.
The Pilots/Lions Series
The Lions are 38-18 all-time against the Pilots. Last season, LMU opened conference play by taking three straight games from the Pilots at Joe Etzel Field. UP last defeated LMU in 2007 when the Pilots won two of three in Los Angeles.
A Brief Look Ahead
The Pilots are set to play their first WCC series at home when the Santa Clara Broncos visit Joe Etzel Field during Easter weekend. On Thursday, April 9 the Pilots and Broncos are scheduled to play at 3:00 p.m. After taking Good Friday off, UP and SCU will play a double header on Saturday, which is set to begin at 9:00 a.m.
The Pilots then travel to Eugene, Ore., on April 14 for their third and final match-up of the season with the Oregon Ducks. Portland is then set to host Northwest rival Gonzaga for a WCC series at Joe Etzel Field the following weekend (April 17-19).
That’s Offensive
The Pilots are off to torrid start at the plate this season, batting a league-high .305 as a team to begin the week. Portland also entered the week leading the WCC in slugging percentage (.472), doubles (60) and total bases (423), while ranking second in home runs (26).
Individually, senior OF Bryant Kraus entered the week second in slugging percentage (.722) and on-base percentage (.517), third in batting average (.389) and total bases (65) and fourth in RBI’s (25) and home runs (6). Freshman SS Kris Kauppila began the week as the conference leader in doubles (13), while ranking third in hits (39) and fourth in runs (29). Sophomore 2B Riley Henricks was fifth in batting average (.378).
The Pilots have eight players batting .300 or better, while sophomore 3B Kevin Armijo is hitting .299.
Here’s the Pitch
While Portland’s offensive is rolling, it’s pitching has been just as effective. UP’s team ERA of 4.39 is more than a full run better than the opposition’s, while Portland’s staff has combined to hold hitters to a .269 average. The Pilots feature 10 pitchers that boast an ERA of less than 4.00, led by sophomore Scott Burris’ conference-best ERA of 2.23. Burris is also 4-0 and is holding opposing hitters to a measly .206 batting average. Freshman RHP Kyle Kraus is 3-2 with an ERA of 2.81, while sophomore RHP Zach Varce leads the WCC with five saves and has an ERA of 3.00.
Senior RHP Mark Triolo has three wins and ranks fifth in the league with 42 strikeouts.
Kraus in the House
Senior OF Bryant Kraus, who led the Pilots last year with a .313 batting average, has picked up right where he left off. Kraus has a hit in 21 of the 26 games this season and is batting .376 to lead the team once again. He also has team highs of six home runs, two triples, 26 RBI’s, 65 total bases, a .699 slugging percentage and a .509 on-base percentage. He has 24 runs, 35 hits, eight doubles and has two games this year with four RBI’s. Kraus has six multi-RBI games overall and 11 multi-hit games. He also had a career-long 12-game hitting streak earlier this season.
During an 8-3 win at BYU on Feb. 27, Kraus went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a homer and four RBI’s. He matched his four RBI, one home run performance during a 19-6 win over Buffalo on March 13.
In addition, Kraus has been hit by a pitch 14 times this season, which is the third most in a single season in program history. He needs to get hit just five more times to break the single season program record of 18. His 26 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 of late, raising his batting average to .376. Since his batting average dipped to a season-low .111 on March 3, Henricks is batting .448 (30-for-67) in 18 games. Overall, he is tied for the team high in batting average and ranks second in RBI’s (23) and on-base percentage (.455). He also has 32 hits, six doubles, three home runs and five games 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.
King of the Hill
Sophomore LHP Scott Burris has flourished in his new roll as a starter, going 4-0 in six starts. Burris has allowed just nine earned runs in 36.1 innings for a WCC-best ERA of 2.23. He’s also holding opposing hitters to a .206 average, which ranks fifth in the WCC. He has two games of at least seven innings pitched and has yet to allow more than three earned runs during a start.
Last season, Burris tied for second on the team with 26 appearances, all out of the bullpen. He finished with two saves, a 1-3 record and an ERA of 4.36, while holding opposing hitters to a .260 average. He averaged 8.2 strikeouts and 1.9 walks per nine innings for a team-best strikeout-walk ratio of 4.3.
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 is currently hitting .351 with two home runs, nine RBI’s and conference-high 13 doubles. Kauppila went 8-for-18 (.444) at the Rose City Invitational and scored five runs. He has four games with three hits this season and one game with four. His 12 multi-hit games lead the team.
Not to be Out-Done
Portland’s other newcomers are making some noise this season as well. Sophomore transfer Craig Smith, an outfielder, is batting .330 with four doubles, nine RBI’s, three homers and 17 runs scored. During a 19-6 win over Buffalo on March 13, Smith went 4-for-6 with a home run, a double and four RBI’s.
Redshirt-freshman OF Garrett Queen is batting .321 and is a perfect 3-for-3 on stolen bases. During a 13-2 win over Hawaii on March 20, Queen knocked in six runs on a single, a double and a home run. The six RBI’s are tied for fourth most during a single game in UP program history. The feat was last accomplished by Matthew Peters during the 2006 season.
Freshman C/DH Beau Fraser is hitting .309 and strung together a team-high 13-game hitting streak earlier this season. He also has 14 RBI’s, seven doubles and a homer.
On the hill, freshman right-hander Kyle Kraus has been masterful. Against 24th-ranked Fresno State on March 12 in Fresno, Kraus picked up the complete-game win, Portland’s only complete game so far this season. During UP’s 4-2 victory against the Bulldogs, Kraus scattered six hits and struck out five. He is 3-2 this season, has an ERA of 2.81 and has 17 strikeouts during a team-high 41.2 innings.
Sophomore RHP Brent Miller is 2-1 and has two saves.
The Cannon
For the third straight season, junior catcher Rocky Gale leads the conference by throwing out 10 would-be base stealers. He led the WCC in that category in both 2008 and 2007 with 32 and 27, respectively. He is mowing down bases stealers this season at a percent of .476.
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.
The Brothers Kraus
Senior OF Bryant Kraus is joined on the UP roster this season by his younger brother Kyle, a right-handed pitcher and utility player out of West Linn High School in West Linn, Ore. Adding to the family atmosphere is UP junior outfielder Austin Pearce, who is Bryant and Kyle’s cousin.
