PORTLAND PILOTS (13-4, 0-0 WCC)
WEEK 5 GAME NOTES
 
Pilots 7, Seattle U 1 (Wednesday, March 13, 2019)
W: Brett Gillis (1-0)
L: Brayden Weyer (0-3)
 
at San Francisco Dons (10-5, 0-0 WCC)
Date: Fri-Sun, March 15-17, 2019
Location: San Francisco, Calif.
Ballpark: Benedetti Diamond
Video: Game 1  Game 2  Game 3
Stats: Game 1  Game 2  Game 3
Series: USF leads 63-30
2018: USF 6-4, USF 6-4, USF 4-0 (March 23-25 at Portland)
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (W-L, ERA)
Friday • March 15 • 3 PM
POR: RHP Eli Morse (2-0, 2.49)
USF: RHP Riley Ornido (3-1, 0.69)
 
Saturday • March 16 • 1 PM
POR: RHP Nate Packard (1-0, 4.66)
USF: LHP Scott Parker (1-1, 3.12)
 
Sunday • March 17 • 1 PM
POR: RHP Chris Clements (4-0, 1.47)
USF: TBA
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots host Seattle U on Wednesday before traveling to the Bay Area to open play in the West Coast Conference with a three-game series against the San Francisco Dons this weekend.
• First pitch for the Pilots and Redhawks is set for 3 p.m. at Joe Etzel Field.
• The Pilots and Dons begin their series at Benedetti Diamond on Friday at 3 p.m., while first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
• Links for live streams and live stats for all four games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots won all five games at home last week, rallying past Oregon on Tuesday at Joe Etzel Field before sweeping Northern Colorado during the weekend.
• Against the Ducks, the Pilots scored five in the bottom of the eighth, which included a go-ahead, two-run double by Gabe Skoro, to claim a 5-3 win; Oregon is the current No. 1 team in the RPI, and it was the fourth straight win for the Pilots over their in-state rival.
• The Pilots then opened the four-game series against UNC with a 17-2 win on Friday, took both ends of Saturday's double header by 9-8 and 8-5 margins, and blanked the Bears 4-0 during Sunday's finale.
• Blake Porter was 6-for-12 during the series with two homers, two doubles, and five RBI's, Chad Stevens also homered twice and hit .353, and Portland closer Connor Knutson picked up a pair of saves.
• Portland starter Chris Clements went the distance on Sunday to claim the complete-game shutout; he struck out 13 and earned his second straight WCC Pitcher of the Week honor.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• At 13-4, the Pilots have matched the 2012 team for the second best start in program history; Portland's 1958 squad holds the record with a 15-2 mark after 17 games.
• Portland's six-game winning streak is the longest stretch without a loss since the Pilots also won six straight in 2012.
• Last weekend was the first four-game series sweep for the Pilots since taking four from Eastern Oregon in 1982, and it's the first against a DI opponent since winning four against Seattle in 1980.
• Senior right-hander Chris Clements was named the Rawlings WCC Pitcher of the Week for the second week in a row after tossing a complete-game shutout Sunday against Northern Colorado; it was the first shutout by a Pilot pitcher since 2015, and the 13 K's were the most for Portland since Kevin Baker fanned 13 in a game in 2017.
• Previously Clements was WCC Pitcher of the Week after producing his first complete-game win at Stephen F. Austin on March 2.
• Clements, a transfer who's in his first year with the Pilots, is 4-0 with a 1.47 ERA, he has 34 K's in 30.2 innings, and he's holding the opposition to a .156 batting average; he's tied for most wins nationally and most complete games (2).
• The Pilots currently lead the nation in doubles (45), are 15th in home runs (13), and rank 18th in double plays (14).
• They lead the WCC in doubles, double plays, home runs, slugging percentage (.447), and stolen bases (22), and they're second in hits (156), runs (112), and WHIP (1.22).
• Portland closer Connor Knutson is third in the country with six saves, Cody Hawken is sixth nationally in hit-by-pitches (9), and Chad Stevens ranks eighth in sacrifice flies (3).
• 2019 marks the fourth 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 also matched the most for the program since that same season.
• The Pilots won five WCC series last year for the most conference series wins since also claiming five league sets in 2011.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
• The Seattle U Redhawks have lost five in a row, including getting swept in three-game set to UT Arlington at home last weekend; three of the losses during the streak were by one run.
• SU is batting .283 as a team, opponents are hitting .214, and their ERA is 3.97.
• Kyle Sherick leads five Redhawks hitting better than .300 with a .351 average, and Justin Mazzone has team-highs of four HR's and 14 RBI's.
• Donny Harrel is in his 10th year as head coach at Seattle.
• The San Francisco Dons enter Tuesday night's game at Fresno State on a five-game winning streak.
• The Dons are 14th nationally in fielding percentage (.982).
• They're hitting .245 as a team, allowing opponents to bat .253, and have a staff ERA of 3.96.
• Jack Winkler is batting a team-best .364, and Jonathan Allen has a league-best 21 RBI's.
• Three-time WCC Coach of the Year Nino Giarratano is in his 21st year at USF.