Complete Release (pdf) I
GameCentral
PORTLAND PILOTS (3-0, 0-0 WCC)
vs. CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS (3-0, 0-0 MVC)
Dates: Friday-Sunday, February 24-26, 2012
Location: Portland, Ore.
Stadium: Joe Etzel Field (1,000)
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Overall Series: CU leads 3-1
Last: CU 11-3, CU 12-0, CU 4-3 (April 1-3, 2011 @Creighton)
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Portland Pilots welcome the Creighton Bluejays to town this weekend for a three-game series at Joe Etzel Field.
• Friday’s series opener is set for 2 p.m., while first pitch is slated for 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
• The Jays are receiving votes in both the NCBWA and USA Today/ESPN National Polls and lead the all-time series with Portland 3-1; Creighton won all three games against the Pilots in Omaha, Neb., last season, and UP’s only win against the Jays came in 2000 in Phoenix, Ariz.
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots opened 2012 with two wins over Stephen F. Austin at the Lamar Classic in Beaumont, Texas, last weekend; Portland claimed the opener 11-0 on Friday before taking Sunday’s meeting 10-5
• Kyle Kraus tossed 7.0 scoreless innings against the Lumberjacks on Friday, allowing just three hits; Kauppila had three RBI’s and Ben Grubb blasted a solo home run.
• Chris Johnson picked up the win on Sunday, while Turner Gill went 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBI’s.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• This marks Portland’s third straight 3-0 start to the season.
• The Pilots were 24-30 overall in 2011 and finished third in the West Coast Conference with an 11-10 league mark.
• Portland has posted consecutive winning records in the WCC for the first time in program history; UP joined the WCC for baseball in 1996 after previously competing in the Pac-10 North Division.
• Portland’s 79 wins during the past three seasons are the most by a Pilots squad since the early 1990’s, when UP tallied 83 W’s from 1990 to 1992.
• Senior pitcher Kyle Kraus and sophomore outfielder/designated hitter Turner Gill were both selected to the 2012 Preseason All-WCC Team, while the Pilots were picked to finish eighth.
• Kraus was named to the NCBWA Preseason All-American Second Team and is just four wins shy of matching Wes Smith’s (1978-81) all-time program mark of 25 career W’s.
• Last season head coach Sperry surpassed Terry Pollreisz to become the second winningest coach in UP program history; Sperry, who has 282 career wins, now trails only long-time Portland coach Joe Etzel.
WCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Senior shortstop Kris Kauppila was named the WCC Player of the Week after helping the Pilots open the season with two convincing wins over Stephen F. Austin.
• Kauppila went 5-for-9 (.556) at the plate during the weekend with four RBI’s, a double, a homer and six runs scored; he also swiped one base and was flawless in the field.
• During UP’s season-opening 11-0 win over the Lumberjacks on Friday, Kauppila had three hits, three RBI’s, three runs, a double and a stolen base; he led off Sunday’s 10-5 win with a solo home run, and he’d add another hit and a walk, while scoring three times.
KAREER BUILDING
• Senior right-hander Kyle Kraus is on the verge of becoming the winningest pitcher in the 89-year history of the University of Portland baseball program.
• Kraus, who was named a preseason All-American and landed on the preseason all-conference team, now was 21 career wins after opening 2012 with a W over Stephen F. Austin last Friday.
• The West Linn, Ore., native is now just four wins shy of matching Wes Smith’s (1978-81) all-time program mark of 25 career W’s.
• Kraus already shares the program’s single-season wins mark, which came during his sophomore year when he was 10-3.
• Kraus’ 21 career wins are tied for the sixth most nationally among active pitchers, and he ranks first all-time at UP with a career walks per nine inning mark of 1.37.
WELCOME BACK
• 2012 marks the return of Beau Fraser, a junior catcher/DH, and Nick Armenta, a sophomore outfielder, who both missed the majority of last season with injuries.
• Fraser is a career .285 hitter, and he had his best year as a sophomore when he hit .316 with seven home runs and 45 RBI’s.
• Armenta was Portland’s everyday starting center fielder as a freshman in 2010, when he hit .263 and was flawless in the field with a 1.000 fielding percentage.
YEAR TWO ON THE BLUFF
• Also returning this season for Portland is sophomore outfielder/designated hitter Turner Gill, who led the Pilots with a .332 batting average.
• Last spring, Gill became first the Pilot since 2008 to be named to the All-WCC First Team and WCC All-Freshman Team in the same season.
• The Madras, Ore., native also registered an 11-game hitting streak, belted three home runs and knocked in 33 RBI’s.
THE SWITCH
• After spending most of his career on The Bluff as a starter, senior right-hander Owen Jones will work out of the bullpen as Portland’s closer this season.
• Jones has an overall record of 11-9 at UP with a career ERA of 4.32.
• As a sophomore, Jones posted a miniscule ERA of 2.56, went 4-2 and held opposing hitters to a .240 average.
• Jones replaces Chris Dennis, Portland’s record-setting closer who is now in the Colorado Rockies organization.
THE NEWCOMERS
• New to the Pilots this season is a heralded group of 10 newcomers, which features three players who were selected in Major League Baseball’s draft last summer.
• Right-handed pitcher Kody Watts was selected in the 15th round, infielder Caleb Whalen went in the 42nd round, and left-handed pitcher Travis Radke was drafted in the 45th round, but all three chose to come to Portland.
• Whalen is 5-for-10 thus far with two doubles, a triple, a home run and a team-high seven RBI’s.
A NEW LOOK
• For the first time in more than 30 years, the West Coast Conference has a new member as Brigham Young University formally joined the WCC last summer.
• With the change in membership, the WCC launched its new brand identity with a new logo.
THE BLOGGER
• Senior outfielder Sam Westendorf has taken on blogging duties this year for the Pilots, so make sure to bookmark portlandpilots.com/baseballblog and follow Sam and the Pilots all season long.
