PORTLAND, Ore. --- The 2018 baseball season is officially here as the Portland Pilots held their first practice of the year on Friday afternoon at Joe Etzel Field. The Pilots will get in three weeks of practice before their first game of the season, which is slated for Feb. 16 at UCLA.
 
The Pilots return 20 letterwinners from last year, seven position starters and three starting pitchers. Headlining the returners is junior infielder Matt Kelly, who led the team with a .292 batting average last season. Joining Kelly is outfielder Beau Brundage, a sophomore coming off a year that saw him bat .283. Also back is Portland's leader in RBI's in junior outfielder Cody Hawken, who brought in 27 runs as a sophomore, and senior Ryan Hoogerwerf returns after leading the squad with seven homers last spring.
 
Junior right-hander Kevin Baker earned Second Team All-West Coast Conference in 2017 after a breakout season on the mound. His ERA of 2.53 against league opponents ranked fourth in the WCC, and his .238 opponents' batting average and 58 strikeouts against conference foes both ranked fifth. Baker's overall average of 11.41 K's per 9.0 innings was No. 27 nationally.
 
Joining Baker on the staff are senior starters Jordan Horak and Corbin Powers.
 
New to The Bluff are 14 newcomers.
 
Portland baseball alum and UP Athletics Hall of Fame member Geoff Loomis enters his third year at the helm of the program. Loomis, who starred on the diamond for the Pilots from 1990-92, still claims a handful of offensive records for Portland, including the highest career batting average (.376). Assistant coach Jake Valentine is also back for his third season in the dugout, and Connor Lambert was hired as the program's new pitching coach last summer. Volunteer assistant coach David Tufo returns for his second year on the bench.
 
The Pilots are set to play three games at UCLA (Feb. 16-18) before returning home for a stretch of eight straight home games, beginning with a visit from Oregon on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Portland opens play in the WCC by hosting Saint Mary's the weekend of March 16-18.
 
Tickets are available for the 2018 season, so please contact the Pilot Box Office (503-943-GoUP) for season packages and flex plans.