PORTLAND, Ore. --- Sophomore Dutton Elske launched a 3-run home run as part of 4 RBI game, leading the Portland Pilots to a 7-4 West Coast Conference victory over the Saint Mary's Gaels on Friday night at Joe Etzel Field.
 
The Pilots (7-11, 1-0 WCC) jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning against the Gaels (9-6, 0-1 WCC) en route to claiming the opening game of West Coast Conference play.
 
Junior Cody Hawken opened the scoring with an RBI single to right field following a lead-off single from sophomore Beau Brundage and an off-the-wall double from redshirt-junior Daniel Lopez.
 
Hawken and Lopez came around to score on Elske's homer, a towering 3-run shot that hugged the left field foul pole. The home run capped the first inning scoring for the Pilots against Saint Mary's starter Nick Frank (1-3).
 
The early scoring backed a sharp performance from freshman Eli Morse (2-2), who scattered 8 hits over 6.2 innings while allowing four runs, three earned. The Portland native has now pitched into the seventh inning in each of his last four starts.
 
The Gaels finally chased Morse with a pair of seventh inning runs. After a hit batsman and a single to left, Conor Thane's sacrifice bunt gave Saint Mary's two runners in scoring position for the top of the lineup.
 
SMC's leadoff hitter Joey Fiske drew a lengthy at-bat against Morse, eventually cutting Portland's lead in half by dribbling the eighth pitch of the at-bat up the middle for a 2-run single.
 
Sophomore Connor Knutson relieved Morse one batter later. Knutson ended the Gaels' threat with a routine fly ball off the bat of four-time preseason All-American Kevin Milam.
 
In addition to escaping the seventh inning jam, it was a pair of third inning insurance runs for the Pilots that proved pivotal. A two out, two run rally sparked by Cody Hawken began with Hawken's second steal of the game.
 
The swipe immediately paid off as junior Jace McKinney deposited the next pitch between three Gaels in left center field for a run scoring double. Elske followed McKinney's double with his fourth RBI of the game with a single to center for the sixth and final run against Frank, the Gaels' starter.
 
Frank finished with 3.0-plus innings, allowing six runs on eight hits while striking out four. Saint Mary's used two relievers as Nick Sparks delivered 4.0 shutout innings in relief of Frank.
 
A bases loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth against SMC's second reliever, Ty Madrigal, extended the Pilots lead to 7-4.
 
Knutson was the only reliever used by the Pilots. The Sammamish, Wash., native picked up his first save of the campaign with four strikeouts over 2.1 perfect innings.
 
Saint Mary's first two runs came on RBI singles from Milam in the third and sixth innings.
 
The Pilots and Gaels continue the West Coast Conference series on Saturday with a 3:00 PM affair on Saturday at Joe Etzel Field. Portland's senior southpaw Corbin Powers (3-1, 3.86 ERA) squares off against Saint Mary's righty Kevin Milam (2-0, 2.95).