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PORTLAND PILOTS (25-23, 12-12 WCC)
vs/at #5 OREGON DUCKS (41-14, 19-8 Pac-12)
Date: Tuesday-Wednesday, May 22-23, 2012
Locations: Portland-Eugene, Ore.
Fields: Joe Etzel Field (1,000) & PK Park (4,000)
Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: ORE leads 77-26
2012: ORE 3, POR 0 (April 18 @Salem, Ore.)
 
Probable Starters
Tuesday • May 22 • 3 PM @Portland
POR: RHP Kyle Kraus (6-5, 2.03)
ORE: LHP Jordan Spencer (3-2, 4.78)
 
Wednesday • May 23 • 6 PM @Eugene
POR: TBA
ORE: TBA
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Portland Pilots open the final week of the regular season with a brief, two-game home-and-away series against the sixth-ranked Oregon Ducks.
• The Pilots and Ducks first play on Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Joe Etzel Field in Portland; the two teams will then travel south for a 6 p.m. tilt on Wednesday night at PK Park.
• Portland will then play their final three games of the year on the road this weekend against the Seattle Redhawks in Bellevue, Wash.
 
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Portland Pilots wrapped up play in the West Coast Conference last weekend by dropping three straight games to the Gonzaga Bulldogs in Spokane.
• The Bulldogs won 12-4 on Friday, 5-3 on Saturday and 7-6 on Sunday; the Bulldogs overcame ninth-inning rallies by the Pilots on both Saturday and Sunday.
 
AN ALL-STAR IN THE CLASSROOM
• Senior reliever Keeler Brynteson, who is the all-time UP program leader with 96 career appearances, was selected to the 2011-12 Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 Baseball Team earlier this spring.
• Brynteson is currently in graduate school and has a 3.90 cumulative GPA.
• The Anacortes, Wash., native has a 1.54 ERA, is holding opposing hitters to a .250 average and has K’d 18 in 23.1 innings of work.
 
#300
• Portland’s 6-3 win at LMU on April 21 was career win No. 300 for head coach Chris Sperry, who is in his 15th year at the helm of the Pilots and currently has 304 career W’s.
• Sperry, a former standout catcher/infielder for the Pilots, trails only long-time UP coach Joe Etzel, who compiled 378 career wins in 21 seasons (1966-86).
 
ON THE RADAR
• Starting pitchers Kyle Kraus and Travis Radke have both been named to the initial national Pitcher of the Year Watch List, presented by the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
• Portland is the only school from the WCC to place two pitchers on the list, which includes 51 pitchers from across the country.
• The winner will be announced on June 30 in Lubbock, Texas, as part of the annual College Baseball Night of Champions.
 
OJO
• Portland senior closer Owen Jones is one of 45 pitchers to be named to the mid-season watch list for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award, which is given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball.
• Jones, who is in his first full season as Portland’s closer, set a new program single-season record with his 15th save last Saturday; he topped the previous record of 14, which was set two years ago by Chris Dennis.
• Jones also has a 1.35 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 26.2 innings.
 
COMPILING THE W’S
• With his win against San Francisco on April 27, senior right-hander Kyle Kraus became Portland’s all-time winningest pitcher with career win No. 26; Kraus surpassed Wes Smith (1978-81) for the most career wins in the history of the 89-year history of the UP program.
• Kraus, who was named a preseason All-American and landed on the preseason all-conference team, is 6-5 this spring and has an ERA of 2.03 ERA, while holding opposing hitters to a .244 average.
• Kraus also shares the program’s single-season wins mark, which came during his sophomore year when he was 10-3.
 
AMONG THE NATION’S ELITE
• Portland’s pitching staff continues to rank among the nation’s leaders, entering the week 14th nationally with a 3.00 ERA; UP is 27th in WHIP (1.21), 17th in walks allowed (2.64) and 33rd in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.52).
• Closer Owen Jones is seventh nationally in saves (15), Travis Radke is 16th in hits allowed (5.96) per 9.0 innings, 24th in WHIP (0.98) and 31st in ERA (2.03), and Kyle Kraus is 14th in walks allowed (1.11) and 31st in ERA (2.03).
 
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 hit .353 during conference play, which ranks sixth, and is batting a team-best .304 overall; he also leads the team with five home runs, 11 doubles, 26 RBI’s, 80 total bases and a .468 slugging percentage.
 
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 and 12 hits, while fanning 29.
• Senior closer Owen Jones nabbed 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.
• Kris Kauppila was named the WCC Player of the Week on Feb. 20; he went 5-for-9 (.556) at the plate during opening weekend with four RBI’s, a double, a homer and six runs scored.
 
THE SOUTHPAW
• Freshman left-handed starter Travis Radke wasted little time getting acclimated to collegiate baseball.
• He’s currently 7-4 with a 2.03 ERA and a opponents batting average of .197; he currently ranks 16th nationally in hits allowed (5.96) per 9.0 innings, is 24th in WHIP (0.98) and ranks 31st in ERA (2.03.
• Radke is second in the WCC in opponents batting average, is third in ERA and he’s sixth in strikeouts (78).
 
WELCOME TO THE BLUFF
• Freshman Caleb Whalen has settled in at the plate and currently leads the Pilots in HR’s (5), triples (3) and runs (25) and is second in RBI’s (24).
• Whalen has spent time in the outfield and at third base this spring, and he was taken by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 42nd round of last year’s MLB Draft.
 
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
• 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.
 
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.