Box Score
PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland’s Rocky Gale and Riley Henricks each had three hits, Craig Smith knocked in three runs and starting pitcher Zach Varce pitched a gem as the Pilots blanked the Southern Utah Thunderbirds 10-0 in a non-conference baseball game on Friday afternoon at Joe Etzel Field. Varce went 7.0 solid innings and the Pilots out-hit the Thunderbirds 15-4.
The Pilots win their third straight game to improve to 13-6 on the year, while SUU drops to 4-15.
Varce got more than enough run support to improve to 3-1. The junior right-hander allowed just four hits, while striking out nine. He entered the game second in the West Coast Conference in strikeouts.
Freshmen relievers Chris Johnson and J.R. Bunda each pitched a scoreless inning out of the bullpen, with Bunda pitching a 1-2-3 ninth. Both pitchers recorded a strikeout.
Southern Utah starter Cody Eliason (1-4) was charged with six earned runs on 10 hits in 3.0 innings. Reliever Steve Johnson settled down after a rough start to pitch the final 5.0 innings. He gave up four runs on five hits and a walk, while striking out three.
After a scoreless first, the Pilots tallied runs during the second, third, fourth and fifth innings. UP opened the bottom of the second inning with three straight hits, culminating in an RBI single by Henricks that scored sophomore DH Beau Fraser. After a one-out single by Rocky Gale, sophomore OF Garrett Queen brought home two runs with single to right field to make it 3-0 in Portland’s favor.
Fraser did the damage in the second inning with a two-run single to center.
The Pilots then poured in out in the fourth inning with a four-spot. With the bases loaded and nobody out, Smith, a junior outfielder, drilled a three-run double into the corner down the left-field line. Smith, who had advanced to third on the throw home, then scored when senior 1B C.J. Cullen smacked a single to left.
Portland’s final run came in the fifth came on an RBI double by Gale.
Varce, who cruised most of the day, ran into a spot of trouble in the top of the second inning when SUU loaded the bases with nobody out. But Varce would calmly induce a line-drive double play from Tyler Hogge and an inning-ending ground-out by Bo Cuthbertson.
The Pilots and Thunderbirds will next wrap-up the quick three-game series with a double header on Saturday, which is set to begin at 12:00 p.m. UP and SUU originally were going to play a game on Saturday and another on Sunday, but they moved Sunday’s game up a day due to a wet forecast.
