Complete Release (pdf)  I  vs OSU: Live Audio  Live Stats  I  vs. Oregon: Live Audio  Live Stats
 
PORTLAND PILOTS (7-31, 2-13 WCC) vs. OREGON STATE BEAVERS (23-11, 6-6 PAC-12)
Dates: Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Time: 6:35 p.m.
Location: Keizer, Ore.
Field: Volcano Stadium (4,250)
Audio/Stats: OSUBeavers.com
Series: OSU leads 149-56-1
2015: OSU 14, @POR 2 (3/4); @OSU 12, POR 3 (3/10)
 
PORTLAND PILOTS (7-31, 2-13 WCC) vs. OREGON DUCKS (21-16, 4-8 PAC-12)
Dates: Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Time: 3 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Field: Joe Etzel Field (1,000)
Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: ORE leads 88-27
2015: @ORE 8, POR 2 (2/24); POR 6, @ORE 4 (3/31); ORE 11, @POR 3 (4/7)
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (W-L, ERA)
Tuesday • April 14 • 6:35 PM
POR: TBA
OSU: TBA
 
Wednesday • April 15 • 3 PM
POR: LHP Cole Doherty (1-3, 7.97)
ORE: RHP Kohl Hostert (0-0, 1.69)
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots face their two in-state rivals this week in a pair of non-conference games.
• First on Tuesday, Portland heads south to Volcano Stadium in Keizer, Ore., to play the Oregon State Beavers at 6:35 p.m.
• On Wednesday the Oregon Ducks return to Joe Etzel Field for a 3 p.m. contest.
 
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots dropped a three-game series to the San Francisco Dons at Benedetti Diamond; the Dons won by scores of 7-6, 1-0 and 8-4.
• On Friday with the Pilots trailing by one and the tying run 90 feet away from home plate in the top of the ninth, USF 2B Michael Eaton made a diving play on a hard grounder off the bat of Portland's Kevin Wade to preserve the win; the Pilots nearly rallied back from a sizeable deficit with a four-run seventh, which was fueled by a two-run triple by Grant Taylor.
• Saturday was a pitchers' duel as both starters went the distance on the mound; the Pilots again got the tying run on base in the ninth and the Dons' lone run of the game came on a solo HR in the sixth inning.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Senior Caleb Whalen ranks eighth among active players nationally with 13 career triples, while fellow senior Turner Gill is tied for 14th with 48 career doubles.
• Gill is tied for the conference lead with eight home runs.
• Kevin Wade just had a career-best 12-game hitting streak snapped vs. the Ducks on Tuesday; it was also a season-high for the Pilots.
• Portland's game against Seattle on Feb. 17 was the 3,000th game in the history of the University of Portland baseball program, which dates back to 1923.
• That Seattle game was also the 900th game at the helm of the Pilots for head coach Chris Sperry, who began his coaching career in 1998.
• Portland's 15 hits in the 9-7 loss at UC Riverside on Feb. 15 were the most hits for the Pilots in a game since April 3, 2013; the Pilots followed that performance with 15 more hits during a 9-0 win over Seattle at Joe Etzel Field on Feb. 17 and they collected 15 hits again on March 1 against UC Davis.
• Caleb Whalen, who is currently unavailable due to an injury, ranks second all-time at UP with 13 career triples, which is just one shy of Larry Farrell's (1958-61) all-time program career record of 14 triples.
• Whalen's six RBI's at Oregon on April 8 last year tied for the fourth most in a game in program history and it's the most RBI's by a Pilot since 2009, when Garrett Queen also drove in six against Hawai'i.
• The Pilots went 11-41 last season and posted a 5-22 record in the West Coast Conference.
• Four of Portland's 11 wins last season came on walk-offs.
• The Pilots were picked to finish 10th in a pre-season poll of the WCC's 10 head coaches.
• Joe Etzel Field, Portland's home ballpark, received a new surface during the off-season, switching from natural grass to artificial AstroTurf; the Etz also received new fencing, bullpens and a scoreboard and the improvements mark the beginning of a three-phase, long-term upgrade to the facility.
• Sperry, a former standout catcher/infielder for the Pilots, has compiled 342 career wins in 17+ years at the helm; he trails only long-time Portland coach Joe Etzel, who collected 378 career wins in 21 seasons (1966-86).
• Joining Sperry on the bench are assistants Larry Casian (9th year), Tucker Brack (7th year) and Jeremy Beard (2nd year).
• Casian, a pitcher, spent parts of nine years in the big leagues with the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• The Beavers have lost four of their last five games.
• The Beavers are batting .284 as a team, are holding their opponents to a .223 average and claim a staff ERA of 3.12.
• Freshman catcher K.J. Harrison is batting .356 with seven home runs, 36 RBI's, three triples and 10 doubles.
• Portland Athletics Hall of Famer (Baseball) Pat Casey is in his 21st season as head coach at Oregon State and he's led the Beavers to two NCAA National Championships
(2006 & 2007)
• The Ducks have won three of their last four games, which includes a win over the Pilots in Portland last week and a 2-1 series win over OSU at home.
• Oregon is batting .248 as a team and has a 3.64 staff ERA; junior Phil Craig-St. Louis leads the team with a .294 batting average, senior Shaun Chase has five home runs and junior Brandon Cuddy has driven in 27 RBI's.
• George Horton is in his seventh year as head coach at Oregon and he's led the Ducks to three straight NCAA post-season appearances.