Tuesday • April 6 • Corvallis, Ore. • Goss Stadium (3,248)
Series: OSU leads 134-56-1 • Radio: KPAM 860 • Live Stats: OSUBeavers.com
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This Week in Pilots Baseball...
The Portland Pilots (18-6, 3-0 WCC) take their eight-game winning streak to Corvallis, Ore., on Tuesday evening for a non-conference game against the No. 10 Oregon State Beavers (18-6, 2-1 Pac-10) at Goss Stadium at 5:30 p.m. The eight straight wins are the most for a Portland squad since the Pilots also reeled off eight in a row in 1991.
A Brief Look Back
The Pilots are 3-0 in the West Coast Conference for the first time ever as Portland’s pitchers continued their domination on the mound during a three-game road sweep of the Santa Clara Broncos in Santa Clara, Calif., last week. The Broncos, who entered the weekend as the top offensive team in the WCC, were held to just 3.3 runs per game and a .275 batting average, well below their season marks of 8.3 and .344, respectively.
During the opener on Thursday night, junior 2B Riley Henricks belted a two-run home run in the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie and lead the Pilots to a 4-2 victory. Starter Zach Varce (4-1) picked up the win, while junior stopper Chris Dennis notched the save, his league-high seventh of the year. The Pilots then stepped it up offensively with an 11-6 win on Friday night and an 11-2 win on Saturday. Sophomore RHP Kyle Kraus (5-0) registered his league-high fifth win on Friday, while sophomore RHP Owen Jones (2-0) got the win on Saturday during his first start of the season. Junior OF Tyler Thompson belted a two-run homer on Friday night and followed it with a two-run triple on Saturday.
The 3-0 weekend marks 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. UP joined the WCC for baseball in 1996.
About Oregon State
The tenth-ranked Beavers won two of three at USC last weekend to open the Pac-10 slate at 2-1. OSU sandwiched an 8-2 loss with wins of 4-1 (10) and 4-3 against the Trojans. The Beavs are batting .267 as a team, while holding the opposition to a .229 mark. Junior INF Stefen Romero is tops on the team with a .329 batting average, six home runs and 21 RBI’s. Freshman LHP Matt Boyd (4-0) and junior LHP Tanner Robles (4-3) have each registered four wins to lead the pitching staff, while boasting ERA’s of 2.03 and 2.38, respectively. Oregon State’s staff ERA is 3.02. Former UP standout Pat Casey is in his 16th as head coach at OSU. The Beavers have won two national titles (2006, 2007) and went 37-19 last year, advancing to an NCAA Regional.
Pilots/Beavers Series
The Beavers posted 6-5 and 9-2 wins over the Pilots in Corvallis earlier this season. The Beavers own a 134-56-1 advantage in the all-time series with Portland.
A Look Ahead
The Pilots return home this weekend and open a seven-game homestand with a three-game WCC series against the Saint Mary’s Gaels at Joe Etzel Field. Friday’s game is set for 3:00 p.m., while first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. UP is then set to host Washington on Wednesday, April 14 and the LMU Lions on April 16-18.
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. Portland’s baseball archives and records get a bit spotty prior to 1955.
The Pilots, who have won eight straight games, are also 3-0 in the West Coast Conference for the first time ever as they finished off a three-game sweep of the Santa Clara Broncos in Santa Clara, Calif., last week. It’s 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. UP joined the WCC for baseball in 1996.
The eight straight wins are the most for a Portland squad since the Pilots also reeled off eight in a row in 1991.
14 Strikeouts... Again
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 5-0 on the season. The native of West Linn, Ore., has tossed a league-high 48.1 innings this season, has walked only nine and he’s lowered his ERA to 4.66, which ranks 13th in the WCC. Kraus’ two complete games are also tied for the league-high.
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, eight multi-RBI games, 30 hits, three home runs, 22 RBI’s and a .465 on-base percentage. He’s currently fifth in the WCC in batting average (.395), is third in on-base percentage and is tenth 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 .358 at the plate, which is third on the team and ranks eighth in the WCC. Cullen, who mostly saw action as a pinch runner during his junior campaign, has appeared in all 24 games this season, while making 20 starts at first base and shortstop. He has 16 runs scored, 29 hits, 16 RBI’s, four doubles and a homer.
During Portland’s recent 3-1 road trip at Arkansas State and Memphis, Cullen went 10-for-16 (.625) with three RBI’s, three runs and three doubles.
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 the fifth most in the nation. He’s also 2-0 and his miniscule 0.41 ERA leads the team and would lead the league if he had just two more innings of work. He has registered a decision, all positive, during nine of his 12 appearances and he has 31 K’s in 22.0 innings, for an average of 12.7 strikeouts per nine innings. Opposing hitters are batting just .173 against him and 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 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 currently ranks second the WCC in strikeouts with 54, which rank 22nd in the nation. He’s averaging 10.3 K’s per game, while also posting a 4-1 record and a 2.47 ERA, which ranks third in the conference. The junior is tied for second in the league in wins.
Varce is starting to appear on some of UP’s record lists, currently sitting third all-time with a career average of 9.7 strikeouts per game.
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 seventh in the country with a staff ERA of 3.12, while also leading the league in opponents batting average (.251). Sophomore Kyle Kraus leads the conference with a 5-0 record, junior Chris Dennis easily leads the league and ranks fifth nationally with seven saves and junior Zach Varce is second in the WCC and 22nd in the country with 54 strikeouts. Varce also ranks third in the league in opponents batting average (.228) and ERA (2.47) and Kraus is tied for the league-high with two complete games. Dennis has been nearly unhittable and would league the lead in both ERA (0.41) and opponents batting average (.173) if he just had two more innings of work to his credit. The transfer from Edmonds CC is 2-0 this spring. New to the party is sophomore Owen Jones, who has slipped into Portland’s third starter spot. The right-hander is 2-0 with an ERA of 0.48.
Kraus 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.
WCC Pre-Season Poll and All-WCC
Portland’s middle infield tandem of junior 2B Riley Henricks and sophomore SS Kris Kauppila was selected to the 2010 Preseason All-West Coast Conference Team and San Diego was picked as the favorite to win this year’s WCC regular season title in the preseason baseball poll, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. The Pilots were selected to finish eighth.
Three Baggers
Portland junior 2B Riley Henricks 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 12th 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 rank 21st nationally with 12 triples.
Pilots Own the Base Paths
Portland’s opponents this season have attempted to steal a base just 15 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 seven of eight attempted base stealers, including going a perfect 2-for-2 last weekend at Santa Clara.
Meanwhile, the Pilots have stolen 23 bases, while allowing just five.
Stopper, Starter, Varce can do it All
Varce, who was primarily a reliever during his first two seasons on The Bluff, is one of 40 players who have been named to the initial watch list for the sixth annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award, given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball. As a sophomore last season, the right-handed Varce led the West Coast Conference with a 2.69 ERA and was tied for the league high with nine saves. Varce also tied a program record for saves in a single season, while going 3-5 overall and holding opposing hitters to a .249 average. He struck out 62 in 60.1 innings worked.
