Tuesday • May 4 • 7:00 PM • Eugene, Ore. • PK Park (3,717)
TV: Comcast SportsNet (Ch. 37) • Radio: KUIK (1360 AM) •
Live Stats: GoDucks.com • Series: ORE leads 72-23
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
POR - Chris Johnson (R, Fr., 2-1, 1.89)*
ORE - Joey Housey (R, So., 2-0, 0.96)
*(R/L, Yr., W-L, ERA)
This Week in Pilots Baseball...
The No. 22 Portland Pilots (30-9, 11-1 WCC), winners of ten straight games, head south on Interstate 5 on Tuesday for a non-conference game against in-state rival and 15th-ranked Oregon (30-14, 10-8 Pac-10) at 7:00 p.m. at PK Park in Eugene. The game between the Pilots and the Ducks will be broadcast live on Comcast SportsNet (Channel 37) in the Portland metro area.
Stay Connected
Fans can now follow the Pilots like never before. Just visit Twitter (@PortlandPilots), facebook (facebook.com/PortlandPilots) and YouTube (youtube.com/UPPurplePride) for all thing Pilots.
A Brief Look Back
The Pilots finished their final exams last week in time to defeat the Seattle Redhawks twice and the BYU Cougars once in Bellevue, Wash., during the weekend. On Friday, the Pilots exploded for 16 runs during a 16-9 win over the Redhawks at Bannerwood Park. Four Pilots had at least two hits, while junior Matt Mardesich had a home run and knocked in five runs, a season-high for the Pilots. Saturday belonged to sophomore starter Kyle Kraus, who won his ninth straight game as the Pilots defeated BYU 5-1. Kraus improved to 9-0 after tossing 7.2 scoreless innings. He struck out eight, walked just one and allowed five hits. Mardesich had three hits and sophomore Beau Fraser knocked in a pair of runs. The Pilots then capped their visit with a 6-0 shutout of Seattle on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore starter Owen Jones allowed just three hits in 7.0 innings, while striking out three. Junior Riley Henricks notched his second three-hit game of the weekend and his seventh on the season.
About Oregon
The Ducks, who are in their second season since resurrecting their baseball program, cruised to their fourth Pac-10 Conference series win last weekend by taking two of three from Washington State at PK Park. Wazzu took the opener 3-2 in 10 innings, but Oregon bounced back to win 6-0 and 6-1. The Ducks are hitting .291 as a team and have a remarkable staff ERA of 3.01, which ranks third in the country. Senior C Eddie Rodriguez and sophomore SS KC Serna are both batting a team-best .333, while Rodriguez has a team-high 20 RBI’s. Head coach George Horton is in his second year at the helm of the Ducks, who returned 25 letterwinners and eight position starters from a team that was 14-42 last year.
Pilots/Ducks Series
Portland won all three games against Oregon last year, but the Ducks claim a 72-23 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to at least 1935. Two of last year’s wins came in Eugene.
A Look Ahead
No. 22 and first-place San Diego visits Joe Etzel Field this weekend in what could go down as an epic three-game West Coast Conference series. The Toreros have yet to lose a league game this year (12-0) and sit one game ahead of the Pilots in the WCC standings. The series could go a long way in determining who wins the league title and gains the automatic bid to the NCAA post-season.
Friday’s series opener is set for 3:00 p.m., while first pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Portland will celebrate “Senior Day” before Sunday’s series finale.
Making History
Portland is enjoying one of its finest seasons in program history. At 30-9, the Pilots have won the most games since Portland won 31 during the 1991 season. It’s also the fifth 30-win season in program history and the first since that ‘91 campaign. The Pilots are quickly approaching the program record for wins in a season, which was accomplished in 1980 when UP went 36-12.
Portland is also an unprecedented 11-1 in the WCC. The 11 league wins are the most WCC wins since tallying 16 in 2002, when the Pilots played a 30-game league schedule.
The Pilots have won 10 straight games for the program’s longest winning streak since an 11-game string in 1980. Portland also had an eight-game winning streak earlier this season.
Portland’s three-game sweep at Santa Clara (April 1-3) was the first WCC road sweep ever recorded by the Pilots and it was the first sweep of a conference foe since taking three from Pepperdine at home in 2002. The Pilots are also fresh off a three-game sweep over Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif., where UP was previously 1-31.
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.
Taking Notice
Portland’s success has not gone un-noticed as the Pilots are in the rankings for the first time since 1980. After entering the polls for the first time last week, the Pilots are currently ranked No. 22 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. UP is also receiving votes in both the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ and the NCBWA Polls. The Pilots were last in the rankings when they were No. 30 in Collegiate Baseball’s final poll of the 1980 season.
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 and now program-best 12 saves, which is tied for the second most in the nation. He’s also 4-0, has miniscule ERA of 1.09 and is holding opposing hitters to a .210 batting average. He has 41 K’s in 33.0 innings, for an average of 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings.
With a save against Pepperdine on April 25, Dennis topped John Nichols’ previous program record of 11 career saves. The 12 saves are also a new single-season record at UP.
He was named the WCC’s Pitcher of the Week (April 26) and College Baseball Insider’s Regional Pitcher of the Week after saving all four of Portland’s wins during the previous week.
Leaving on a High Note
Portland senior C.J. Cullen is making the most of his final season on The Bluff, hitting a robust .386 at the plate, which leads the team and ranks third in the WCC. Cullen, who began his career as a shortstop and mostly saw action as a pinch runner during his junior campaign, became Portland’s starting first baseman this year and he’s taken his game to a new level. A career .195 hitter entering the season, Cullen has exploded at the plate with 31 RBI’s, 33 runs, five doubles, a triple and three home runs, one of which was a walk-off, three-run blast to give UP a 7-5 win over Seattle on Feb. 28. He’s also been clutch as 17 of his RBI’s have come with two outs.
Cullen, who has three four-hit games this spring, was the named WCC Player of the Week (April 26) after going 10-for-16 (.625) at the plate with a home run, a triple, six RBI’s and four runs scored as the Pilots won at Washington and swept Pepperdine in Malibu.
The Catcher Can Hit Too
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 this season and he currently leads the Pilots in a plethora of categories. Fraser, who was named the WCC’s Player of the Week on April 19, is fourth in the league with a .383 batting average and he leads the team with 13 multi-RBI games, four four-RBI games, six home runs, 42 RBI’s, a .570 slugging percentage and a .439 on-base percentage. He’s third in the league in RBI’s.
The native of Aptos, Calif., has also thrown out three would-be base stealers, while allowing just two stolen bases.
The Catcher Can Hit Too, Take Two
Senior C Rocky Gale, most known for his work behind the plate, has been on an absolute tear at the plate lately and has raised his season average to .344. Gale, who was a career .239 hitter entering the season and batted just .194 last year, went 8-for-10 with three RBI’s and five runs scored during the three-game sweep of LMU (April 16-18). Against the Lions on Sunday, April 18, he had his first career five-game hit, which included three doubles. Gale is batting .469 during WCC games.
Meanwhile it’s been business as usual behind the plate for Gale, who has thrown out 12 of 15 attempted base stealers this season, for a ridiculous percentage of .800. The native of Keizer, Ore., has led the WCC all three of his seasons on The Bluff in throwing out would-be base stealers.
K Kraus
Sophomore right-handed starter Kyle Kraus, Portland’s Friday starter as a freshman a year ago, has flourished and then some in his new role as the team’s Saturday starter. Kraus is perfect on the season with a 9-0 record and is on the verge of setting a program record for most wins in a season. Ted Devore currently holds the record with 10 W’s, which was set in 1989. Kraus, a native of West Linn, Ore., easily leads the league in wins and is tied for the second most victories in the country. His 3.55 ERA ranks ninth in the WCC, he has two complete games, is holding opposing hitters to a .255 batting average and recently went 20.2 innings without issuing a walk.
During a win at home against Southern Utah on March 26, sophomore right-hander Kyle Kraus became the second UP pitcher this season to record 14 strikeouts during a game. 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.
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, 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 second in the WCC and 20th nationally in strikeouts with 84. He’s averaging 10.4 K’s per game, while also posting a 5-1 record and a 3.08 ERA, good for fourth in the conference. The junior is tied for sixth 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 sixth in the country with a staff ERA of 3.24, while also leading the league in opponents batting average (.254). Sophomore Kyle Kraus leads the conference with a 9-0 record, junior Chris Dennis easily leads the league and ranks second nationally with 12 saves and junior Zach Varce is second in the WCC with 84 strikeouts and is fourth in ERA (3.08). Dennis has been nearly unhittable and would league the lead in both ERA (1.09) and opponents batting average (.210) if he had enough innings to qualify. Instead, that distinction goes to sophomore Owen Jones, who missed last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. His 2.29 ERA and opponents batting average of .225 are both league-bests. Jones is also 4-1, while Dennis is 4-0. Portland is a allowing just 8.6 hits per game, which ranks 15th nationally.
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.
Not to Be Outdone
While Portland’s pitchers are getting it done on the mound, the UP batters have been stroking it at plate. The Pilots feature six players hitting .300 or better and they are third in the WCC with a team average of .300. C.J. Cullen (.386) and Beau Fraser (.383) are third and fourth in the league, respectively, while Riley Henricks leads the conference and is 22nd nationally with six triples.
Three Baggers and then Some
Portland junior 2B Riley Henricks, who has bumped his batting average up to .327, 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 six three-baggers in 2010, Henricks now has 12 during his career, and is just three shy of setting a new program career mark, which has stood since 1961 (Larry Farrell).
His six triples this season lead the league, are the 22nd most in the country and are the second most in a single season in program history.
Pilots Own the Base Paths
Portland’s opponents this season have attempted to steal a base just 23 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 a staggering 12 of 15 attempted base stealers.
Meanwhile, the Pilots have stolen 30 bases, while allowing just eight. Junior OF Craig Smith leads the team and is third in the WCC with 10 steals.
Join the Party!
The University of Portland Athletic Department will be hosting a watch party at Tom’s Pizza on North Lombard street as the No. 22 Pilots travel to Eugene to face the No. 15 Ducks on Tuesday night. The game is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast live on Comcast SportsNet (Channel 37). UP friends, family, faculty, staff and fans are invited to stop by and show their support of the Pilots, who are enjoying one of the finest season’s of baseball ever on The Bluff.
