Complete Release (pdf) I
Live Audio I Live Stats:
vs. Oregon vs. Oregon State
PORTLAND PILOTS (13-22, 5-7 WCC)
vs. #7 OREGON DUCKS (27-8, 12-3 Pac-12)
Date: Tuesday, April 16, 2013
First Pitch: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Field: Joe Etzel Field (1,000)
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: ORE leads 80-26
2013: @ORE 3, POR 1 (Feb. 26); @ORE, POR 1 (March 26)
PORTLAND PILOTS (13-22, 5-7 WCC)
vs. #5 OREGON STATE BEAVERS (28-6, 10-2 Pac-12)
Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2013
First Pitch: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Field: Joe Etzel Field (1,000)
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: OSU leads 142-56-1
2013: @OSU 7, POR 5 (April 2)
PROBABLE STARTERS (W-L, ERA)
Tuesday • April 16 • 3 PM
POR: RHP Kody Watts (1-2, 9.00)
ORE: RHP Brando Tessar (1-0, 3.86)
Wednesday • April 17 • 3 PM
POR: TBA
OSU: TBA
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots welcome a pair of top-10 non-conference opponents to Joe Etzel Field this week as both the No. 7 Oregon Ducks and No. 5 Oregon State Beavers visit The Bluff.
• First the Ducks come to town for a 3 p.m. game on Tuesday.
• UP will then host the Beavers on Wednesday with first pitch also slated for 3 p.m.
• The Ducks have already won two close games against the Pilots in Eugene this season, while OSU topped Portland 7-5 in Corvallis on April 2.
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots dropped two of three games at BYU last weekend despite leading late during all three games of the WCC series against the Cougars.
• During Thursday’s opener, the Pilots were solid on the hill and at the plate en route to an 8-4 win.
• Caleb Whalen had a triple and three RBI’s, Kramer Scott belted a two-run homer and freshman starter Billy Sahlinger tossed 6.0 solid innings; Whalen had three hits total and was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle.
• After spotting Portland an early-four run lead on Friday, the Cougars scored 10 straight runs to register an 11-7 win.
• The loss spoiled a four-hit night for Portland’s Nick Armenta, while Cody Lenahan had three RBI’s.
• On Saturday, the Pilots claimed a late one-run lead after scoring a pair in the top of the eighth, but BYU responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame before holding on for a 7-6 win.
• Jeff Melby had a pair of hits to extend his hitting streak to 15 games, which is both a career-best and a season-high for the Pilots.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Senior third baseman Jeff Melby is currently on a 15-game hitting streak, which is a career-best and the longest for the Pilots this season.
• Sophomore right-hander Kurt Yinger nabbed WCC Pitcher of the Week honors on March 18 after tossing his first career complete game shutout.
• Yinger had a string of 27.0 consecutive scoreless innings earlier this season.
• Sophomore lefty Travis Radke, who K’d 14 during a win over UC Riverside on March 15, is second nationally in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (13.8) and is 18th in overall strikeouts (68).
• Radke’s 14 strikeouts against UCR are tied for the 14th most in a single game nationally this season.
• Freshman right-hander Billy Sahlinger leads the WCC in fewest hits allowed (26).
• Sophomore OF/INF Caleb Whalen ranks third nationally with five triples and he’s tied for the lead in the WCC.
• Nine of Portland’s first 13 games of 2013 were against ranked opponents.
• Portland went 27-25 last year to register the second winning season in the past three years, a feat that has not been accomplished since 1992.
• The Pilots have compiled 85 wins during the past three years (2010-12), which is the most W’s during a three-year span since 1990-92; Portland’s 110 wins during the past four years (2009-12) are also the most since that same time (1989-92).
• UP was 12-12 in the WCC last year, good for a sixth-place finish, marking the third straight year with a conference record of .500 or better, which is a first in the history of the program.
• Junior outfielder Turner Gill and sophomore left-hander Travis Radke were both selected to the Preseason All-West Coast Conference Baseball Team.
• Head coach Chris Sperry, a former standout catcher/infielder for the Pilots, notched career win No. 300 last year when Portland defeated LMU 6-3 in LA on April 21.
• Sperry, who has 319 career wins in 15+ years at the helm of the Pilots, trails only long-time Portland coach Joe Etzel, who compiled 378 career wins in 21 seasons (1966-86).
• Sperry coached his 800th career game as head coach at UP at UC Irvine on March 2.
KKKKKKKKKKKKKK
• Sophomore left-hander Travis Radke had a career outing on March 15 when he struck out 14 in just 7.0 innings during a win over UC Riverside.
• Radke became the 11th pitcher in the 90-year history of the UP baseball program to record at least 14 K’s in a game.
• The native of Thousand Oaks, Calif., currently ranks second in the nation in K’s per nine innings (13.8) and he’s 18th in overall strikeouts (68); he leads the WCC in K’s.
• Last season, he was named the WCC’s 2012 Freshman of the Year, while also garnering Freshman All-American honors.
• He ended last season 11th nationally in hits allowed per nine innings (5.97), 26th in WHIP (1.0) and 30th in ERA (2.09).
WCC RAWLINGS PITCHER OF THE WEEK
• Sophomore right-hander Kurt Yinger was named the WCC Rawlings Pitcher of the Week (March 18) after hurling his first career complete game shutout as the Pilots blanked UC Riverside 2-0 on March 16 at Joe Etzel Field.
• Yinger registered a career-high 12 strikeouts and didn’t walk a single batter, while scattering six hits.
THE STREAK
• Sophomore righty Kurt Yinger ran his consecutive scoreless inning streak to 27.0 innings before the San Francisco Dons scored in the eighth inning of a 5-1 Portland win on March 23.
• He began the streak against No. 21 UC Irvine on March 2 and he had back-to-back 9.0 scoreless inning outings against Seattle (March 9) and UC Riverside (March 16).
• Against the Redhawks, Yinger allowed just three hits and fanned eight in the no-decision, while he registered his first career complete game shutout against the Highlanders.
• During his complete game, he struck out a career-high 12, didn’t issue a walk and allowed just six hits.
THE TRIFECTA
• Radke had a little defensive help in the top of the first inning against Riverside on March 15 after the first two batters of the game reached base.
• With both runners on the move, Clayton Prestridge lined out to Jeff Melby at third, who threw it to second base for the force out before Cody Lenahan tossed it to first base for another force out and an inning-ending triple play.
THREE BAGGERS
• Caleb Whalen already has five triples this season, more than doubling his career total.
• His five triples are tied for first in the WCC, he’s tied for third nationally and he’s just two triples shy of matching UP’s all-time single-season record, which is currently held by Riley Henricks (2010), Nate Hare (2000) and Larry Farrell (1960).
• His eight career triples are the ninth most all-time at UP and are just six shy of matching Farrell’s (1958-61) career mark of 14.
