PORTLAND PILOTS (10-16, 4-5 WCC)
WEEK 8 GAME NOTES
 
at Gonzaga Bulldogs (13-13, 4-5 WCC)
Dates: Fri-Sun, April 6-8, 2018
First Pitches: 6 PM/6 PM/12 PM
Location: Spokane, Wash.
Ballpark: Washington Trust Field
Video: TheW.tv
Stats: GoZags.com
Series: GU leads 125-78-0
2017: GU 13-0, GU 7-4 (10), GU 3-2 (April 21-23 at Portland)
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (W-L, ERA)
Friday • April 6 • 6 PM
POR: RHP Eli Morse (2-3, 3.43)
GU: RHP Daniel Bies (3-2, 2.57)
 
Saturday • April 7 • 6 PM
POR: LHP Corbin Powers (3-3, 5.05)
GU: RHP Alek Jacob (2-3, 3.98)
 
Sunday • April 8 • 12 PM
POR: RHP Camden Muller (1-1, 4.46)
GU: LHP Mac Lardner (2-1, 2.01)
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots remain on the road this week when they travel to Spokane, Wash., for a key three-game, West Coast Conference series with the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Patterson Baseball Complex and Washington Trust Field.
• First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday nights, while Sunday's finale is set to begin at 12 p.m.
• Both the Pilots and Bulldogs sit at 4-5 in the conference, and all three games will be streamed live at TheW.tv.
 
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots won a thrilling three-game league series at Santa Clara last weekend, giving Portland two series wins during the first three weeks of conference play.
• During Thursday night's opener, the Pilots trailed 9-2 before erupting for nine runs in the top of the 8th inning to stun the Broncos with an 11-9 comeback win.
• During that eighth inning, Daniel Lopez collected a three-run, bases clearing double, and Ryan Hoogerwerf hit a pair of doubles as the Pilots claimed their largest come-from-behind victory in the modern era of UP baseball.
• Seven of the runs scored in the inning came with two outs.
• The Broncos then produced a comeback win of their own on Saturday, winning 7-6, but the Pilots again rallied for 7-6 a victory during Sunday's finale.
• On Sunday, Portland scored twice in the top of the ninth, with Tate Budnick providing the two-out, two-run double that put the Pilots ahead.
• Seven Pilots had two hits on the afternoon as Portland finished with 15 hits overall.


ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland sits at 4-5 in league play tied for fourth place in the league standings; five teams are at 4-5, including Gonzaga.
• Last Thursday's 11-9 comeback win at Santa Clara marks the largest come-from-behind win during the modern era of UP baseball; the Pilots scored nine runs in the top of the eighth, with seven coming with two outs, to secure the win.
• The nine runs are tied for the most by a Pilot team in a single inning since Portland tallied 11 runs in the seventh inning of a 19-0 win versus UC Davis on March 24, 2006 at Joe Etzel Field; nine runs also marked Portland's previous high for an entire game this season.
• Sophomore outfielder Beau Brundage nabbed Rawlings WCC Player of the Week honors on March 12 after hitting .563 with three doubles and seven RBI's during a four-game series at home with UC Irvine (Mar. 9-11).
• Brundage ranks among the conference leaders in a variety of hitting categories; he's second in on-base percentage (.458), third in batting average (.366) and fourth in hits (37), and he had a career-long 18-game hitting streak earlier this season.
• The Pilots rank second in the WCC in triples (7) and are third in doubles (49), home runs (15), slugging percentage (.382), and stolen bases per game (1.00).
• Ryan Kim nearly became the first Portland player in program history to hit for the cycle on Feb. 24 against Saint Joseph's, but the sophomore outfielder fell a single shy; after going 3-for-3 to begin the day, Kim drew a walk during his final at-bat.
• Daniel Lopez joined a long list of Pilots to hit two home runs in a game during a 3-for-5, five RBI performance on Feb. 24 against Saint Joseph's; no player in UP history has hit three home runs in a game.
• Portland played 20 of their first 24 games of 2018 at Joe Etzel Field.
• Headlining UP's 20 returners is junior infielder Matt Kelly, who led the team with a .292 batting average last season; junior outfielder Cody Hawken led the Pilots with 27 RBI's as a sophomore, and senior Ryan Hoogerwerf hit a team-best seven HR's in 2017.
• Junior right-hander Kevin Baker, who earned Second Team All-WCC in 2017, was voted to the 2018 All-WCC Preseason Team; he's currently unavailable as he recovers from an injury.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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; he came to UP from the University of Utah, were he was the director of operations.
 
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
• The Gonzaga Bulldogs, who have dropped three straight one-run ballgames, are hitting .252 as a team, while the opposition is batting .243.
• The GU staff ERA is 3.43, and Sunday starter Mac Lardner has a 2-1 mark with a team-best ERA of 2.01, which ranks sixth in the WCC.
• Senior Gunnar Schubert is hitting a squad-best .320, while senior Branson Trube is batting .318 with four home runs and 16 RBI's.
• Two-time WCC Coach of the Year Mark Machtolf is in his 15th year as head coach at Gonzaga, who have won six straight over the Pilots.