Box Score
SPOKANE, Wash. --- Portland sophomore starter Kyle Kraus picked up his tenth win of the season, junior Craig Smith hit a two-run homer and the Pilots finished off a three-game sweep of the Gonzaga Bulldogs with a 7-3 victory on Sunday afternoon at Washington Trust Field. Portland earns its fourth West Coast Conference series sweep of the year.
The Pilots end the regular season with the second most wins in program history, coming in at 34-18 overall. The 34 victories are second only to the 1980 UP squad, which went 36-12.
Portland also registers its best ever showing in the WCC, finishing in second place with a 14-7 league mark. The Pilots finished behind only league champion San Diego, which earns the WCC’s automatic berth to the NCAA playoffs.
GU ends the year at 20-36 and 8-13 in the WCC.
Kraus (10-3) went the distance for his third complete-game win of the year and he becomes just the second pitcher in program history to reach double-digits in victories. He matches Ted Devore’s program record for wins during a season, which came in 1989 when Devore went 10-6.
Kraus had the Bulldogs guessing all afternoon, finishing with nine strikeouts and just one walk. He scattered eight hits in allowing three runs.
The Pilots provided Kraus with all the offense we would need during the game’s first two innings. In the first, senior C.J. Cullen followed a double by junior Riley Henricks with a two-bagger of his own, handing UP the early 1-0 lead. Moments later with the bases loaded, redshirt-junior Kyle Haskin made it a two-run advantage with a sacrifice fly to right-center field that scored Cullen. Sophomore Kris Kauppila then capped the scoring in the first with a two-run double down the left-field line.
Portland didn’t let up in the second inning as Smith blasted a two-run homer to left-center field and sophomore Beau Fraser drilled a solo home run to left to give the Pilots a cozy 7-0 lead.
GU starter Jeremy Stumetz (4-4) lasted just the first two innings and picks up the loss. Liam Baron was effective out of the bullpen, allowing just five hits in 6.0 innings of relief, but the Bulldogs couldn’t overcome the seven-run deficit. Jacob Hiatt pitched a scoreless ninth.
Gonzaga’s runs came in the second, fifth and ninth innings.
UP outhit GU 12-8 and the Bulldogs committed the game’s only error. Every Portland starter had at least one hit or knocked in a run. Cullen, senior Rocky Gale, Kauppila and senior Austin Pearce each finished with two hits.
Gale caps a stellar senior campaign with a team-high .347 batting average. The catcher also threw out a staggering 18 of 23 attempted base stealers.
