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PORTLAND PILOTS (12-17, 4-2 WCC)
vs. GONZAGA BULLDOGS (17-10-1, 5-4 WCC)
Dates: Friday-Sunday, April 5-7, 2013
Location: Portland, Ore.
Field: Joe Etzel Field (1,000)
Live Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: GON leads 109-76
2012: GON 12-4, GON 5-3, GON 7-6 (May 18-20 @GON)
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (W-L, ERA)
Friday • April 5 • 3 PM
POR: LHP Travis Radke (2-3, 3.48)
GON: LHP Marco Gonzales (4-2, 2.65)
 
Saturday • April 6 • 1 PM
POR: RHP Kurt Yinger (2-1, 2.55)
GON: LHP Tyler Olson (4-2, 3.52)
 
Sunday • April 7 • 1 PM
POR: RHP Billy Sahlinger (1-1, 2.86)
GON: TBA
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots welcome the Gonzaga Bulldogs to The Bluff this weekend for a three-game West Coast Conference series at Joe Etzel Field.
• Friday’s opener is set for 3 p.m., while first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
• The Bulldogs have won six straight against the Pilots and lead the all-time series 109-76, which dates back to at least 1955.
• Rain is in the forecast this weekend, so be sure to check with PortlandPilots.com for all weather-related schedule changes.
 
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots split their two non-conference mid-week games, dropping a 7-5 decision at No. 6 Oregon State on Tuesday before bouncing back for a 13-6 win at Seattle U on Wednesday.
• Portland took a 2-1 lead at OSU into the sixth inning before the Beavers scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth and four more in the seventh; the Pilots did score three in the top of the ninth and sent the tying run to the plate, but OSU would hold on for the win.
• Against the Redhawks, Colin Sowers belted a pair of bases-loaded doubles en route to a five-RBI day; Portland combined for a season-high 18 hits and Michael Lucarelli had three hits and three RBI’s.
• Last weekend the Pilots registered their first series sweep of the season by winning all three games against West Coast Conference foe Santa Clara at Joe Etzel Field.
• On Thursday during the first game of a double header, Beau Fraser drew a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Pilots prevailed 2-1.
• Portland then easily claimed the second game 10-3; Jeff Melby was 2-5 with three RBI’s in that second game, while Ben Grubb was 3-4 with two RBI’s and a run scored.
• On Saturday, Grubb knocked in the go-ahead run with a base hit in the bottom of the eighth and reliever Jeremy Burright struck out two with the potential tying run on second base in the ninth as Portland secured the sweep with a 7-6 victory.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Sophomore right-hander Kurt Yinger nabbed WCC Pitcher of the Week honors on March 18 after tossing his first career complete game shutout.
• Sophomore lefty Travis Radke, who K’d 14 during a win over UC Riverside on March 15, is third nationally in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (13.5) and is sixth in overall strikeouts (62).
• 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, while the Pilots were picked to finish seventh in a vote of the league’s nine head coaches.
• 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 318 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.
 
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 Camas, Wash., native extended his streak of consecutive scoreless innings to 19.0, which dated back to the sixth inning of a game at UC Irvine on March 2.
 
THE STREAK
• Yinger’s scoreless inning streak would stretch 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.
• Yinger boasts an impressive ERA of 2.55 and he’s K’d 40, while walking just six, in 53.0 innings; he’s holding the opposition to a .247 batting average.
 
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 third in the nation in K’s per nine innings (13.5) and he’s sixth in overall strikeouts (62); 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).
 
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 four triples this season, more than doubling his career total.
• His four triples rank second in the WCC and he’s tied for seventh nationally.
• His seven career triples are the ninth most all-time at UP and are just seven shy of matching Larry Farrell’s (1958-61) career mark of 14.
 
LIKE FATHER LIKE SON
• Freshman Lucas Hunter’s last name may be familiar to baseball fans as his father, Brian, spent 12 years playing in Major League Baseball.
• Brian Hunter spent time with the Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers and the Seattle Mariners, and he led the American League with 74 stolen bases in 1997.
• Lucas Hunter went to Portland’s Central Catholic and he was drafted in the 31st round of last year’s MLB draft by the Miami Marlins.
 
GAMECENTRAL = #THEPLACETOBE
• UP is providing a free online audio broadcast for every home game in 2013.
• Portland will also expand its video streaming to two weekend conference series and a couple of mid-week games.
• The Pilots plan to provide free video for the LMU series (April 26-28), and the Pepperdine series (May 17-19), along with mid-week games against Oregon (April 23) and Washington (May 14).
• Visit PilotsVideo.com to access GameCentral, which also can be used on your smartphone.