PORTLAND PILOTS (7-24-1, 3-9 WCC)
WEEK 9 GAME NOTES
 
at No. 22 OREGON DUCKS (21-8, 5-4 PAC-12)
Dates: Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Location: Eugene, Ore.
Ballpark: PK Park (1,300)
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Video: Pac-12.com
Stats: GoDucks.com
Series: ORE leads 92-27
2017: Oregon 1, Portland 0 (March 28 @Portland)
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots travel to Eugene, Ore., on Tuesday for a match-up with the Oregon Ducks, who sit at No. 22 in the most recent Baseball America poll.
• First pitch for the Pilots and Ducks is set for 6:05 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network.
• Later this week brings a three-game West Coast Conference series with the San Francisco Dons at Benedetti Diamond in San Francisco, Calif.
• The series at USF begins on Thursday, with first pitch slated for 3 p.m.; Friday's game is also scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., while the finale on Saturday is set for 1 p.m.
 
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots outlasted the Pepperdine Waves 2-1 in 16 innings at Joe Etzel Field on Sunday to conclude a three-game WCC series.
• After 15 scoreless innings, the Waves scored a run on a sacrifice fly in the top of the 16th.
• The Pilots responded by loading the bases in the home half of the frame, and Cody Hawken and Devin Kopas each drew a walk to force in the tying and winning runs.
• Portland starter Kevin Baker was nearly flawless in 10.0 innings on the hill, scattering seven hits; he fanned 11 and didn't issue a walk.
• The Waves took the first two games 12-6 and 14-8.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Sunday's 16-inning game against Pepperdine at Joe Etzel Field was the longest game for the Pilots since also playing a 16-inning contest in 2008 against Northern Illinois; Portland won that game 9-6 in Tempe, Ariz.
• Last week's (April 5) 10-10 tie at Seattle U was the first tie for the Pilots since 2003, when a game at Saint Mary's ended even at 9-9.
• The capacity crowd of 1,300 to watch the Pilots and No. 1 Oregon State on April 4 was the largest in Joe Etzel Field history; the previous high was 1,092, which also came against Oregon State last season.
• Sophomore starter Kevin Baker has struck out a career-best 11 during each of his last two outings and is averaging 12.68 K's per 9.0 innings, which is tops in the WCC and ranks 19th in the nation; Baker fanned 11 Broncos in 6.1 innings against Santa Clara (April 2), and he struck out 11 more in 10.0 scoreless innings vs. Pepperdine last Sunday.
• On Friday, March 9, freshman left-hander Grady Miller struck out 12 in 7.0 innings as the Pilots defeated Northwestern 5-2; the 12 K's are tied for the fourth most in a game ever for the Pilots, and it's the most strikeouts since Travis Radke fanned 14 in 2013.
• Sophomore Matt Kelly is batting a team-best .325; he had a team-best 10-game hitting streak earlier this season, and he's currently riding a seven-game hitting streak.
• Portland's game against Seattle on March 22 was the 600th in the coaching career of skipper Geoff Loomis; the UP alum and Athletics Hall of Fame member is in his second season at the helm of the Pilots after 13 seasons as head coach at Pacific Lutheran, where he led the Lutes to 11 winning seasons and two NCAA Regional appearances.
• Loomis (1990-92) still holds the UP program career record for batting average (.376) and he earned Pacific-10 North Division Player of the Year honors in 1992.
• The Pilots opened the season with 11 straight road games before finally playing at Joe Etzel Field on March 10; 15 of Portland's first 20 games are on the road.
• The new-look Pilots entered the season with 14 returning letterwinners, only two position starters and three starting pitchers.
• Portland welcomed 20 new players to the program this year, which includes 12 freshmen, two redshirt-freshmen and six JC transfers.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Ducks are ranked 22nd in the Baseball America Poll and sit just out of the NCBWA and USA Today rankings; they swept UC Irvine at home last weekend.
• The pitching staff has posted the fourth most shutouts (6) in the country, and have allowed the fourth fewest walks (2.28) per 9.0 innings; they're No. 2 nationally in strike-to-walk ratio (3.98)
• The team ERA is 3.12, the team batting average is .256, and opponents are hitting .240; Jake Bennett is batting a team-best .310.
• George Horton is in his ninth year as head coach at Oregon and he's led the Ducks to five NCAA post-season appearances.
 
BY THE NUMBERS - A LOOK INSIDE THE 16-INNING GAME
• 9: Years since the Pilots last played a game that went 16 innings; it came in 2008, and it was a 9-6 win over Northern Illinois in Tempe, Ariz.
• 389: The total amount of pitches thrown by both teams combined.
• 4: Walks allowed during the entire game, with all four issued by Pepperdine in the bottom of the 16th inning.
• 3: Runs scored, which were all scored in the 16th inning.
• 11: Strikeouts recorded by Portland starter Kevin Baker in 10.0 innings.
• 0: Walks allowed by Portland starter Kevin Baker in 10.0 innings.
• 2: Number of seventh inning stretches.
 
UPDATING THE ETZ
• Last season on Feb. 26, the Pilots played the first night game in the history of Joe Etzel Field, which was a 10-7 win over Oakland.
• The lights were phase two of a long-term upgrade to Portland's home ballpark, and phase one in 2014 included the installation of AstroTurf, new fencing, bullpens, a scoreboard and a grass berm for seating down the right field line.
• The improvements are part of a planned three-phase renovation project, which will also eventually include a new press box, new dugouts, and a new grandstand.
• UP is currently offering seat sponsorship for the new grandstands for $250 per seat; each $250 donation will feature a personalized nameplate on your sponsored seat for the life of the soon-to-be renovated Joe Etzel Field, with all funds going straight to the grandstand renovation fund.
• Go to giving.up.edu/takeaseat to leave your legacy today, or contact Nick Wood at woodn@up.edu or 503-943-8558.