Complete Release (pdf)  I  Live Video:  Game 1  Game 2  Game 3  I  Live Stats:  Game 1  Game 2  Game 3
 
PORTLAND PILOTS (5-11, 0-0 WCC)
at LOYOLA MARYMOUNT LIONS (9-8, 0-0 WCC)
Dates: Friday-Saturday,                 March 14-16, 2014
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Field: Page Stadium (1,000)
Live Video (free)/Stats: LMULions.com
Series: LMU leads 43-28
2013: POR 8-3, POR 3-2, POR 2-1 (April 26-28 @POR)
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (W-L, ERA)
Friday • March 14 • 6 PM
POR: RHP Austin Kelly (1-2, 2.35)
LMU: RHP Colin Welmon (2-1, 2.48)
 
Saturday • March 15 • 6 PM
POR: RHP Kurt Yinger (0-2, 8.25)
LMU: RHP Patrick McGrath (2-0, 3.62)
 
Sunday • March 16 • 1 PM
POR: TBA
LMU: LHP Sean Buckle (1-2, 3.50)
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots open play in the West Coast Conference this week when they travel to Los Angeles, Calif., for a three-game series against the Loyola Marymount Lions at George C. Page Stadium.
• First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on both Friday night and Saturday, while Sunday's finale is scheduled for  1 p.m.
 
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots took two games at home in a rain-shortened series last weekend from Bakersfield before splitting a pair of games at Seattle mid-week.
• Against the Roadrunners on Friday, Austin Kelly notched his first collegiate win with a complete-game outing during the 5-1 victory; the righty needed just 95 pitches on the afternoon, limiting Bakersfield to one run on five hits.
• Kevin Wade and Cody Lenahan provided the offense with a two-run double and a two-run home run, respectively.
• The Pilots then won 1-0 on Saturday, courtesy a walk-off walk with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
• After the first two batters were retired in the ninth, Ryan Barr was hit by a pitch and Bo Cornish, Chet Thompson and Michael Lucarelli each drew a walk to force in the game's only run.
• Portland starter Kurt Yinger struck out 11 in 8.0-plus innings of work.
• UP then blanked Seattle 6-0 on Tuesday before the Redhawks rallied for a 5-4 win on Wednesday; Turner Gill had a pair of RBI's and Ryan Littlefield went yard for the Pilots during the win, while Whalen had two hits and two RBI's on Wednesday.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland's recent three-game winning streak snapped an eight-game losing skid.
• Caleb Whalen is Portland's top hitter with a .283 average, two HR's, four doubles, a triple and seven RBI's; Whalen is currently fourth all-time at UP with 10 career triples, which is just four shy of Larry Farrell's (1958-61) all-time program career record of 14 triples.
• Portland features a young pitching staff with only two seniors in the regular rotation of starters and relievers; sophomore Jackson Lockwood is a staff-best 3-1 with a 3.22 ERA, while freshmen Alex Fisher (0.82), Davis Tominaga (2.08) and Austin Kelly (2.35) all have sub-3.00 ERA's.
• The Pilots opened the season with a 1-0 win at then-12th ranked and defending national champion UCLA on Friday, Feb. 14.
• Portland scored the only run of the game against the Bruins when Caleb Whalen was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the top of the first inning.
• UP starter Travis Radke and three relievers combined to hold the Bruins to just four hits, while recording 12 strikeouts.
• Radke, a junior left-hander who earned Freshman All-America honors in 2012, returned this year after missing the majority of last season with an injury.
• Redshirt-junior Turner Gill also returned after utilizing his medical redshirt season last year; Gill was also a Freshman All-American and twice landed on the All-WCC First Team.
• Junior infielder Cody Lenahan is Portland's top returning hitter after batting a career-best .300 last spring.
• The Pilots were picked to finish seventh in a pre-season poll of the WCC's 10 head coaches, while Radke was selected to the All-WCC Preseason 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 329 career wins in 16+ 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, 2013.