vs. #21 OREGON STATE BEAVERS (23-11)
Date: Monday, April 16, 2012
First Pitch: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Field: Joe Etzel Field (1,000)
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: OSU leads 138-56-1
2011: OSU won all 3 games; 11-1 @POR, 6-1 @POR, 13-3 @OSU
PORTLAND PILOTS (20-10)
vs. #6 OREGON DUCKS (24-14)
Date: Wednesday, April 18, 2012
First Pitch: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Salem, Ore.
Field: Volcanoes Stadium (4,252)
Live Audio: PortlandPilots.com
Live Stats: GoDucks.com
Overall Series: ORE leads 76-26
2011: ORE won 3 of 5 games; POR 5-3, UO 6-4, UO 14-3, POR 4-2, UO 7-2
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Portland Pilots face their two in-state rivals this week as they host the Oregon State Beavers on Monday and face the Oregon Ducks in Salem, Ore., on Wednesday.
• First pitch between the Pilots and Beavers at Joe Etzel Field is set for 3 p.m.
• The Pilots and Ducks will square-off at Volcanoes Stadium, with the starting time set for 6:30 p.m.
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• Pepperdine took two of three from the Pilots in a three-game West Coast Conference series during the weekend in Malibu, Calif.
• In the first game of a double header on Saturday, the Waves scored the tying run in the bottom of the ninth inning before scoring the winning run in the 10th to post a 3-2 victory; during the second game, the Waves again scored late to win 4-3.
• On Sunday, it was the Pilots who scored the winning run in the 10th inning to claim a 4-3 win; Caleb Whalen had a two-run home run and knocked in three runs, while Cody Lenahan drove in the winning run in the 10th with a two-out single.
#300
• The next win for head coach Chris Sperry will be No. 300 in his career.
• Last season coach Sperry surpassed Terry Pollreisz to become the second winningest coach in UP program history; Sperry, a former standout catcher for the Pilots, is in his 15th year as head coach and trails only long-time UP coach Joe Etzel in career wins.
COMPILING THE W’S
• With his win against San Francisco on April 1, senior right-hander Kyle Kraus matched Wes Smith’s (1978-81) 25 career wins for the most career wins in the history of 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, is 5-2 this spring and will have a chance at claiming solo ownership of the all-time wins mark on Friday at LMU.
• Kraus also shares the program’s single-season wins mark, which came during his sophomore year when he was 10-3.
• Kraus currently leads the WCC in ERA (1.44), innings pitched (68.2), is tied for second in wins and is seventh in opponents batting average (.219); he’s allowed just one earned run in 35.1 innings against WCC foes for a ridiculous ERA of 0.25.
AMONG THE NATION’S ELITE
• After recently claiming the country’s top team ERA; Portland currently ranks second with a 2.44 ERA, which sits behind only Coastal Carolina (2.20).
• Portland is also fourth nationally in runs allowed and earned runs allowed, is ninth in hits and opponents batting average and is tied for 10th in shutouts.
• Individually, senior closer Owen Jones is tied for second nationally in saves (12), freshman left-hander Travis Radke is seventh in opponents batting average (.169) and senior starter Kyle Kraus is ninth in innings pitched (61.0).
CRUISING
• Portland’s 12-2 start to the season matched the second best start to a season in program history; only the 1958 squad began a season better, jumping out to a 16-2 record.
• Portland’s current record of 20-10 is the program’s fourth best mark after 30 games.
THE FRIENDLY CONFINES
• Despite playing “home” games at three different locations this year, the Pilots set a program record by winning 11 straight home games, dating back to last season.
• Cal State Northridge ended Portland’s successful run at home during the second game of a double header on March 16.
• UP topped the previous mark of 10 straight home wins, which happened in 1989-90.
CONFERENCE HONORS
• Travis Radke was named the WCC Pitcher of the Month for March after going 4-1 during the month with an ERA of 0.93; he held opposing hitters to a .124 batting average.
• In 29.0 innings, Radke allowed just three earned runs, surrendered just 12 hits and fanned 29; he struck out 11 during a 7.0 outing at CSU Bakersfield on March 3.
• Senior closer Owen Jones was the second Pilot this season to earn weekly honors from the conference after nabbing the WCC’s Pitcher of the Week Award on Mar. 12.
• Jones pitched in all four wins that week, fanning seven of the 11 batters he faced; he didn’t allow a hitter to reach base and he saved all three W’s over Air Force.
• Senior shortstop Kris Kauppila was named the WCC Player of the Week on Feb. 20 after helping the Pilots open the season with 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.
THE SOUTHPAW
• Freshman left-handed starter Travis Radke wasted little time getting acclimated to collegiate baseball.
• Radke has led the nation for most the season in hits allowed per 9.0 innings, and he’s currently seventh in opponents batting average (.169).
• He leads the WCC in opponents batting average, is second in ERA (1.44), is tied for second in wins (5), is tied for fifth in strikeouts (48) and is tied for the league-high for strikeouts in a single game (11).
THE SWITCH
• After spending his first three years on The Bluff mainly as a starter, senior right-hander Owen Jones has made a switch to the bullpen and has already picked up 12 saves.
• The 12 saves are second most in the nation and are just three shy of matching Portland’s single-season record of 14.
• Jones has a 1.93 ERA, an opponents batting average of .268 and 22 K’s in 18.2 innings.
HIT OF THE YEAR & THEN SOME
• Sophomore Turner Gill provided perhaps the hit of the year so far, which came with Portland trailing Creighton 2-0 and down to its out on Feb. 24.
• Gill belted a game-tying two-run home run, sending the game to extra innings, where Kris Kauppila won it with a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th.
• Gill is hitting .341 during conference play and a team-best .305 overall; he also has three home runs, six doubles, 15 RBI’s and 16 runs.
• 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 FRESHMEN
• 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, outfielder Caleb Whalen went in the 42nd round, and Travis Radke was drafted in the 45th round.
• Radke is 5-2 with a 1.49 ERA and an opponents batting average of .169.
• Whalen leads the team with five home runs, six doubles, two triples, 22 RBI’s and a .529 slugging percentage; his current 11-game hitting streak is the longest this season for the Pilots.
