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Pilots (20-9, 5-1 WCC) vs Loyola Marymount (16-15, 0-3 WCC)
April 16-18 • Portland, Ore. • Joe Etzel Field (1,000)
Series: LMU leads 40-19 • Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
Friday, April 16 • 3:00 p.m.
POR - Zach Varce (R, Jr., 4-1, 2.60)*
LMU - Ramiro Carreon (R, So., 2-3, 5.36)
Saturday, April 10 • 1:00 p.m.
POR - Kyle Kraus (R, So., 6-0, 4.28)
LMU - John Lally (L, So., 3-0, 4.23)
Sunday, April 11 • 1:00 p.m.
POR - Owen Jones (R, So., 2-1, 1.96)
LMU - Martin Viramontes (R, So., 2-4, 6.57)
*(R/L, Yr., W-L, ERA)
This Week in Pilots Baseball...
The Portland Pilots (20-9, 5-1 WCC) are coming off of a pair of West Coast Conference series wins as they welcome the Loyola Marymount Lions (16-15, 0-3 WCC) to Joe Etzel Field for a three-game set this weekend. The series opener is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Friday, while first pitch will be 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 2010. In addition, UP provides live, in-game statistics for all home games, which can also be accessed on PortlandPilots.com.
Stay Connected
Fans can now follow the Portland Pilots like never before. Just visit Twitter (@PortlandPilots), facebook (facebook.com/PortlandPilots) and YouTube (youtube.com/UPPurplePride) for access to everything
Pilots.
A Brief Look Back
Portland took the first two games against Saint Mary’s at Joe Etzel Field last weekend before the Gaels claimed the series finale. On Friday, the Gaels led 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth when UP’s Matt Mardesich hit a two-run, two-out double to give the Pilots a 5-4 walk-off win. The Gaels had broken a 3-3 tie with a homer in the top of the ninth. Portland reliever Chris Dennis picked up the win, while Garrett Queen hit the first of his three homers during the weekend.
There was a little less drama on Saturday as Portland pounded the Gaels 12-1. Kevin Armijo knocked in three runs, the Pilots totaled 17 hits and starter Kyle Kraus moved to 6-0 on the season. The win improved Portland’s record to a perfect 5-0 in the WCC, which had never been accomplished since UP joined the WCC for baseball in 1996.
SMC hurlers held the UP offense in check on Sunday for a 5-4 win. Two of Portland’s four hits were home runs, courtesy Queen and Rocky Gale, who tagged his first long fly of the season.
Washington then handed the Pilots their second straight loss with a 6-5 victory on Wednesday at Joe Etzel Field. Washington’s Miles Kizer hit a tie-breaking solo home run in the top of the seventh inning. The Pilots had previously tied the game on a three-run homer by Beau Fraser in the bottom of the sixth.
About LMU
The Lions are 13-5 during their last 18 games and are coming off a 6-5 win at Long Beach State on Tuesday. LMU opened WCC play with three losses at San Diego last weekend. The Lions are hitting .289 as a team and are led by sophomore OF Ryan Hawthorne, who is batting a team-best .343. Sophomore C Matt Koch has belted 10 home runs, which rank second in the WCC, while driving in a team-best 28 runs. LMU’s pitchers have combined for an ERA of 5.45, while opposing hitters are batting .302. Junior RHP Chris Eusebio and sophomore LHP John Lally are both 3-0, while Eusebio has two saves and a 2.35 ERA. Jason Gill is in his second year as head coach. 22 letterwinners and four position starters returned from a team that was 30-29 last year and finished second in the WCC with a 13-8 league mark.
Pilots/Lions Series
The Lions won two of three against the Pilots last season in Los Angeles, Calif. LMU has won 12 of the last 14 meetings against UP and lead the all-time series 40-19.
A Look Ahead
This weekend’s three-game series against LMU marks the end of seven straight home games for the Pilots. Next week, Portland is scheduled to play the Washington Huskies in Seattle, Wash., on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. Then it’s on to Malibu, Calif., for a three-game WCC set against the Pepperdine Waves, which begins on Friday, April 23.
Portland also added a pair of games later in the season against the No. 28 Washington State Cougars. The Pilots and Cougs will face each other in Portland on Tuesday, May 11 and in Pullman, Wash., on Wednesday, May 26.
Making History
Portland’s 10-2 start to the season matched the best recorded start to a season in program history. The 1958 Pilots also went 10-2 en route to an impressive 16-2 beginning to the season. UP’s record of 20-7 matched the program’s second best mark after 27 games, and the Pilots opened 5-0 in the WCC for the first time ever. Portland’s current 5-1 mark in the conference is the best start to a WCC slate since joining the league for baseball in 1996.
Portland’s three-game sweep at Santa Clara (April 1-3) was the first WCC road sweep ever recorded by the Pilots and it’s the first sweep of a conference foe since taking three from Pepperdine at home in 2002.
Portland’s eight-game winning streak earlier this season was the longest for a UP squad since the Pilots also reeled off eight in a row in 1991.
Taking Notice
After getting one vote in last week’s USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll, the Pilots stepped up and received two votes in the most recent poll.
Dennis the Menace
Junior transfer Chris Dennis, a right-handed reliever, is proving to be quite menacing for opposing hitters during his first season as a Pilot. Dennis, a native of Bothell, Wash., who transferred to UP from Edmonds CC last summer, has stepped into the closer role for the Pilots and has already registered a league-best seven saves, which is tied for the 10th most in the nation. He’s also 3-0, has miniscule ERA of 0.37 and is holding opposing hitters to a .179 batting average. He has registered a decision, all positive, during 10 of his 14 appearances and he has 33 K’s in 24.1 innings, for an average of 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings. He’s allowed just five walks and one earned run.
His seven saves are already tied for the third most during a single season in UP program history and he is just three saves shy of setting a new program record.
K Kraus
During a win at home against Southern Utah on March 26, Portland sophomore right-handed starter Kyle Kraus became the second UP pitcher this season to record 14 strikeouts during a game. Junior righty Zach Varce fanned 14 in 8.0 innings during a win over Seattle on Feb. 28. The 14 strikeouts are tied for the second most by a single pitcher during a game in program history. Two pitchers have previously registered 16 K’s, most recently in 1970.
It was also the second straight complete-game win for Kraus, who is a league-best 6-0 on the season. His six wins are the 11th most in the nation. The native of West Linn, Ore., has walked only 12 in 54.2 innings and he’s lowered his ERA to 4.28, which ranks 12th in the WCC.
Feeling the Flow
Portland sophomore C/DH Beau Fraser, who had a string of eight consecutive at-bats with a hit earlier this season, has been the team’s most consistent hitter and he currently leads the Pilots in a plethora of offensive categories. The Aptos, Calif., native leads the team with 10 multi-hit games, nine multi-RBI games, four home runs, 26 RBI’s, a .532 slugging percentage and a .430 on-base percentage. He’s currently eighth in the WCC in batting average and on-base percentage and is 10th in RBI’s.
During Portland’s series win at Utah Valley (Mar. 18-20), Fraser had six hits in 10 at-bats, knocked in nine runs, belted two home runs and registered his first career grand slam. He also went 5-for-5 with two RBI’s and two runs during an 8-3 win at Arkansas State on March 6.
Eight is Great
Portland senior C.J. Cullen is making the most of his final season on The Bluff, hitting a robust .343 at the plate, which is third on the team and ranks ninth in the WCC. Cullen, who mostly saw action as a pinch runner during his junior campaign, has appeared in all 29 games this season, while making 25 starts primarily at first base. He has 17 runs scored, a team-high 34 hits, 18 RBI’s, four doubles and a homer.
During Portland’s 3-1 road trip at Arkansas State and Memphis, Cullen went 10-for-16 (.625) with three RBI’s, three runs and three doubles.
K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K
Portland junior pitchers Zach Varce and Chris Dennis recently combined in what will go down as one of the best pitching performances in program history. During a 2-1, 10-inning win over Seattle at Joe Etzel Field on Feb. 27, the starter and the reliever combined to strikeout a program record of 19 Redhawks.
Varce, who was named the WCC’s Co-Pitcher of the Week following the performance, struck out 14 during 8.0 innings of work. The 14 strikeouts are tied for the third most in a single game in UP program history. The right-handed Varce, who didn’t factor into the decision, allowed just one run on four hits and did not issue a walk. He retired the final 18 hitters he faced in order, including striking out the final six. Dennis, also a righty, spelled Varce to begin the ninth inning and promptly struck out five of the seven hitters he faced.
The previous program record of 16 K’s had been accomplished three times, most recently in 1990.
Zac-K Varce
Varce hasn’t slowed down since that 14-strikeout performance as he is currently third in the WCC in strikeouts with 58, which rank 22nd in the nation. He’s averaging 9.4 K’s per game, while also posting a 4-1 record and a 2.60 ERA, good for second in the conference. The junior is tied for third in the league in wins.
Kings of the Hill
Portland is once again getting solid production from its pitching staff as the Pilots currently rank first in the WCC and eighth in the country with a staff ERA of 3.25, while also leading the league in opponents batting average (.261). Sophomore Kyle Kraus leads the conference with a 6-0 record, junior Chris Dennis easily leads the league and ranks tenth nationally with seven saves and junior Zach Varce is third in the WCC with 58 strikeouts. Varce also ranks second in the league in ERA (2.60) and is eighth in opponents batting average (.262). Dennis has been nearly unhittable and would league the lead in both ERA (0.37) and opponents batting average (.179) if he had enough innings to qualify. The transfer from Edmonds CC is 3-0 this spring. New to the party is sophomore Owen Jones, who has slipped into Portland’s third starter spot. The right-hander is 2-1 with an ERA of 1.96.
Kraus, who has tossed two complete-game wins, notched 14 strikeouts against Southern Utah on March 28. Varce did the same against Seattle on Feb. 28, while combining with Dennis to fan a program-high 19 Redhawks total.
GQ
Sophomore OF Garrett Queen has emerged as one of Portland’s biggest offensive threats. Queen had a career-high 12 game hitting streak this season, has at least one hit in 15 of 18 games played and leads the team and ranks sixth in the conference with a .359 batting average. Last weekend, he homered in three straight games to help UP win two of three against Saint Mary’s.
Three Baggers
Portland junior 2B Riley Henricks, who has bumped his batting average up to .304, has been a steady presence in the line-up during his three seasons on The Bluff and this year is no different as he closes in on a program record for triples. Already with five three-baggers in 2010, Henricks now has 11 during his career, and is just four shy of setting a new program career mark, which has stood since 1961 (Larry Farrell).
His five triples this season lead the league and are the ninth most in the country. Henricks also had five during his freshman campaign, which is tied for the third most in a single season in UP history.
As a team, the Pilots lead the league and are tied for 15th nationally with 14 triples.
Sophomore Slump? Forget About It
Portland sophomore SS Kris Kauppila is proving that his freshman success was no fluke as he once again is getting it done offensively. So far this season, the Glendale, Calif., native is batting .304 with five doubles and 17 runs scored, while swiping five bases in seven attempts. He had a six-game hitting streak earlier this season and he has registered nine multi-hit games. Kauppila’s best performance to date was a 4-for-4 showing with three runs, two RBI’s, a double and two stolen bases during Portland’s 11-7 win over George Fox on Feb. 20. His .328 career batting average currently ranks eighth all-time at UP.
Last season, Kauppila led the Pilots in a plethora of offensive categories to earn All-WCC Honorable Mention and a spot on the conference’s all-freshman team. He also landed on the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Team, as released by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, becoming the second Pilot (Riley Henricks) in as many years to earn that distinction.
Flashing the Leather
Junior OF Craig Smith and sophomore C/DH Beau Fraser are proving to be two of the best defensive players in program history. Both have yet to commit an error as a Pilot for a perfect fielding percentage of 1.000, which is tops all-time at UP. Smith has had 186 career chances, while Fraser has had 169.
Pilots Own the Base Paths
Portland’s opponents this season have attempted to steal a base just 20 times and UP’s starter behind the plate is a major reason why. Senior catcher Rocky Gale has led the WCC all three of his seasons on The Bluff in throwing out would-be base stealers. As a junior last year, Gale gunned down 25 would-be base stealers and he threw out a staggering 41% of attempted base stealers overall. This season, Gale has thrown out 10 of 12 attempted base stealers.
Meanwhile, the Pilots have stolen 25 bases, while allowing just seven. Junior OF Craig Smith leads the team and is second in the WCC with 10 steals.
