PORTLAND PILOTS (0-0)
WEEK 1 GAME NOTES
at Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors (0-0)
Dates: Fri-Sun, Feb. 15-17, 2018
Location: Honolulu, Hawai'i
Ballpark: Les Murakami Stadium
Video (Friday only): BigWest.tv
Stats: Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4
Series: POR leads 5-3
Last: POR 5-1, UH 5-3, POR 10-7, UH 6-5 (10) (March 10-13, 2011 @UH)
PROBABLE STARTERS (2018 W-L, ERA)
Friday • Feb. 15 • 8:35 PM
POR: RHP Eli Morse (3-7, 3.62)
UH: LHP Jeremy Wu-Yelland (1-3, 6.14)
Saturday • Feb. 16 • Game 1 • 3:05 PM
POR: RHP Nate Packard (N/A)
UH: RHP Aaron Davenport (N/A)
Saturday • Feb. 16 • Game 2 • 6:00 PM
POR: RHP Kevin Baker (0-0, 2.45)
UH: LHP Dominic DeMiero (2-4, 5.24)
Sunday • Feb. 17 • 3:05 PM
POR: RHP Chris Clements (N/A)
UH: TBA
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots open the 2019 campaign with a four-game series against the Hawai'i Warriors at Les Murakami Stadium in Honolulu.
• The season-opener for both teams is set for Friday night, with first pitch slated for 8:35 p.m. (Pacific).
• The Pilots and Warriors with then play a double header on Saturday, which is scheduled to begin at 3:05 p.m., and first pitch for Sunday's series finale is also set for 3:05 p.m.
• Links for live video, which is available on Friday night only, and live stats for all four games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
NEXT WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots stay on the road next week when they travel to Edinburg, Texas, for the Al Ogletree Classic, hosted by UT Rio Grande Valley at the UTRGV Stadium.
• Portland will play two games on Friday, first squaring off against North Dakota State before playing host UTRGV in the night cap.
• Saturday brings another meeting with UTRGV before the Pilots end their stay in Edinburg against North Dakota State on Sunday.
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• 2019 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); Loomis is coming off his most successful year as the Pilots' skipper.
• The Pilots' 23 wins last season were the most for the program since winning 27 in 2012.
• Portland's 12 WCC victories were also matched the most for the program since that same season.
• The Pilots won five WCC series last year, which included winning two of three from regular season league-champion Pepperdine in Malibu during the final weekend; the five conference series wins were the most won by the Pilots since also claiming five league sets in 2011.
• The Pilots feature an experienced squad in 2019, while at the same time they add a bevy of newcomers.
• Portland returns 18 letterwinners and five position starters, which includes all-conference senior outfielder Cody Hawken.
• Hawken, who was named Preseason All-WCC, had a career year as junior, batting a career-best .323 overall, while leading the Pilots with 10 homers and 36 RBI's.
• Senior Matt Kelly returns as well, bringing a wealth of experience back to the infield and 122 career starts, and joining him are third baseman Daniel Lopez and Chad Stevens, who started every game at shortstop as a freshman in 2018; Lopez joined the long list of Pilots who have homered twice in the same game when he accomplished the feat at home against Saint Joseph's last season.
• Portland's pitching staff is loaded with veterans and features 2018 all-conference picks Eli Morse and Connor Knutson.
• Morse, a sophomore righty, flourished as Portland's Friday starter last spring, registering three wins and collecting the program's first complete-game win since 2015; he had an ERA of 3.62 as a freshman, and he fanned 71 in a staff-high 82.0 innings.
• Knutson, a junior right-handed reliever, made 22 appearances out of the pen last year, going 4-2 with eight saves, a 2.75 ERA and an opponents' batting average of .191.
• Senior starter Kevin Baker also returns after missing most of last season with an injury; Baker earned All-WCC Second Team recognition in 2017, and he currently ranks No. 2 all-time at UP with a career average of 10.63 strikeouts per game.
ABOUT THE RAINBOW WARRIORS
• The Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors are coming off back-to-back winning seasons, including a 27-24 record in 2018 and a sixth-place finish in the Big West with an 11-13 league mark.
• This year the Rainbow Warriors return 18 letterwinners, five position starters, and 11 pitchers overall, and they add 15 newcomers.
• Hawai'i was selected to finish sixth this spring in the always competitive Big West Conference.
• UH head coach Mike Trapasso, now in his 18th season with the 'Bows, brings back four All-Big West performers from a year ago in Dylan Thomas (First Team), Maaki Yamazaki (First Team), Ethan Lopez (Second Team) and Adam Fogel (Honorable Mention).
• Portland and Hawai'i don't have a lot of history with each other as the Pilots lead the all-time series 5-3.
• The two teams last met in 2011 at Hawai'i when they split a four-game series.
