Complete Release (pdf) I Live Audio: Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 I Live Stats: Game 1 Game 2 Game 3

PORTLAND PILOTS (7-32, 2-13 WCC) vs. GONZAGA BULLDOGS (18-17, 8-7 WCC)
Dates: Fri-Sun, April 17-19, 2015
Time: 3 p.m./1 p.m./1 p.m.
Location: Portland, Ore.
Field: Joe Etzel Field (1,000)
Audio/Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: Gonzaga leads 115-76
2014: GON 8-4, GON 8-2, GON 3-0 (April 18-19 @Gonzaga)

PROBABLE STARTERS (W-L, ERA)
Friday April 17 3 PM
POR: RHP Billy Sahlinger (2-3, 4.54)
GON: RHP Andrew Sopko (5-3, 2.05)

Saturday April 18 1 PM
POR: RHP Kurt Yinger (1-6, 6.81)
GON: RHP Hunter Wells (1-2, 1.67)

Sunday April 19 1 PM
POR: RHP Jackson Lockwood (1-4, 4.20)
GON: RHP Brandon Bailey (6-1, 2.24)

THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
The Pilots continue their lengthy stay at home this weekend when the Gonzaga Bulldogs visit Joe Etzel Field for a three-game West Coast Conference series.
Friday's opener will begin at 3 p.m., while first pitch is set for 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
At home on Wednesday, Michael Lucarelli belted a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Pilots loaded the bases in the ninth, but the Oregon Ducks escaped with a 5-2 win.
Previously 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 OPPONENT
The Bulldogs have won five of their last six games, including a three-game sweep of Saint Mary's at home last weekend.
Gonzaga is batting .275 as a team, boasts a staff ERA of 3.08 and is holding their opponents to a .253 batting average.
Junior 1B Taylor Jones is batting a team-best .426 and he's one of three Bulldogs with three home runs; sophomore OF Justin Jacobs has a team-high 28 RBI's.
GU's pitching staff features five pitchers with an ERA below 3.00 and sophomore RHP Brandon Bailey is 6-1 with an ERA of 2.24; he's also registered 69 K's in 68.1 innings of work.
Two-time WCC Coach of the Year Mark Machtolf is in his 12th year at the helm of the Bulldogs.