PORTLAND PILOTS (0-0, 0-0 WCC)
WEEK 1 GAME NOTES
 
at No. 13 UCLA Bruins (0-0, 0-0 Pac-12)
Date: Fri-Sun, Feb. 16-18, 2018
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Ballpark: Jackie Robinson Stadium (1,879)
Video: N/A
Audio: UCLABruins.com
Stats: Game 1  Game 2  Game 3
Series: UCLA leads 2-1
Last: POR 1-0, UCLA 12-1, UCLA 4-3 (11) (Feb. 14-16, 2014 at UCLA)
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (2017 W-L, ERA)
Friday • Feb. 16 • 6 PM
POR: LHP Jordan Horak (2-7, 5.92)
UCLA: RHP Jake Bird (5-5, 2.75)
 
Saturday • Feb. 17 • 2 PM
POR: LHP Corbin Powers (1-6, 6.21)
UCLA: RHP Jon Olsen (7-1, 2.86)
 
Sunday • Feb. 18 • 1 PM
POR: RHP Eli Morse (N/A)
UCLA: RHP Zach Pettway (N/A)
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots open the 2018 campaign with a three-game series in Los Angeles this weekend against the No. 13 UCLA Bruins at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
• Friday's opener is set for 6 p.m., first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, and Sunday's finale will begin at 1 p.m.
• A video stream is not available during the series, but live audio and stats can be found at UCLABruins.com.
 
NEXT WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots return to The Bluff next week for their home opener, which is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 21 against the Oregon Ducks at Joe Etzel Field.
• Following the visit from the Ducks, Portland will host Saint Joe's for a four-game series, beginning on Friday, Feb. 23.
• The Pilots are scheduled to play 20 of their first 24 games at the friendly confines of Joe Etzel Field.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• 2018 marks the third year for head coach Geoff Loomis, a Portland baseball alum and UP Athletics Hall of Fame member who still holds the UP program career record for batting average (.376).
• Portland's game against Seattle on March 22 last season was the 600th in the coaching career of Loomis, who previously spent 13 seasons as head coach at Pacific Lutheran, where he led the Lutes to 11 winning seasons and two NCAA Regional appearances.
• 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.
• Hoogerwerf joined a long list of Pilots to hit two homers in the same game when he left the yard twice at BYU on May 11; no Pilot has ever homered three times in the same game.
• Junior right-hander Kevin Baker, who earned Second Team All-West Coast Conference in 2017, was voted to the 2018 All-WCC Preseason Team.
• Last spring Baker ranked 27th nationally and was third in the WCC in K's per 9.0 innings (11.41); he also had the Pilots' lone complete game of the season, and his 3.03 ERA was fifth in the conference.
• His career-high 13 K's at Pacific (April 30) tied for the third most in a game ever for the Pilots.
• New to The Bluff this year are 14 newcomers, which includes four transfers, two redshirts, and eight true freshmen.
• Some tidbits from last year:
        - The 16-inning game against Pepperdine at Joe Etzel Field on April 9 was the longest game for the Pilots since also playing a 16-inning contest in 2008 vs. Northern Illinois.
        - Portland's 10-10 tie at Seattle U on April 5 was the first tie for the Pilots since  2003.
        - 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 in 2016.
        - The 23-19 loss at BYU on May 11 featured the most combined runs in one game in the 94-year history of the UP baseball program, and it's the most runs ever scored by the Pilots during a loss.
• Joining Loomis on the bench this year is assistant coach Jake Valentine, who is also in his third year on Portland's staff; volunteer assistant coach David Tufo is back for his second year with the Pilots.
• Pitching coach Connor Lambert, who spent the past seven seasons as the associate head coach/pitching coach for the Corvallis Knights, is in his first year at Portland.
• Lambert pitched collegiately at Washington State, and he came to North Portland from the University of Utah, were he was the director of operations.
 
ABOUT THE BRUINS
• The UCLA Bruins are ranked in the top 15 off all major collegiate baseball polls, and they were selected to finish third this season in the Pac-12 Conference.
• The Bruins went 30-27 overall last season and went to an NCAA Regional.
• UCLA has a rich tradition, appearing in 21 NCAA postseasons, reaching five college world series, and winning the 2013 national championship.
• Sophomore catcher/infielder Kyle Cuellar is the top returning hitter after batting a team-best .319 last season, while sophomore Michael Toglia was second on the squad last year in both home runs (8) and RBI's (33).
• Junior righty Jon Olsen, who is scheduled to start on Saturday against the Pilots, is back after going 7-1 last year with a sparkling 2.86 ERA.
• John Savage is in his 14th year at the helm of the Bruins, who own a 2-1 edge in the all-time series with the Pilots.