PORTLAND PILOTS (15-6, 1-2 WCC)
WEEK 6 GAME NOTES
 
at Brigham Young Cougars (14-5, 1-2 WCC)
Date: Thur-Sat, March 21-23, 2019
Location: Provo, Utah
Ballpark: Miller Park
TV: BYUtv (Saturday)
Online Video: Game 1  Game 2  Game 3
Stats: Game 1  Game 2  Game 3
Series: BYU leads 25-13
2018: Por 4-3, BYU 6-2, POR 8-6 (April 12-14 at Portland)
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (W-L, ERA)
Thursday • March 21 • 5 PM (Pacific)
POR: RHP Kevin Baker (0-1, 4.50)
BYU: RHP Jordan Wood (2-0, 1.76)
 
Friday • March 22 • 5 PM (Pacific)
POR: RHP Eli Morse (2-1, 2.51)
BYU: RHP Easton Walker (1-0, 0.00)
 
Saturday • March 23 • 12 PM (Pacific)
POR: RHP Nate Packard (2-0, 4.26)
BYU: RHP Justin Sterner (3-2, 2.59)
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots stay on the road this week when they travel to Provo, Utah, for a three-game West Coast Conference series against the BYU Cougars at Miller Park.
• Thursday's opener is set to begin at 5 p.m. (Pacific), Friday's game is also scheduled for 5 p.m., and Saturday's finale will begin at 12 p.m.
• Links for live streams and live stats for all three games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots dropped two of three to begin conference play last weekend against the San Francisco Dons at Benedetti Diamond in San Francisco.
• The Dons won the opener 2-1 on Friday afternoon, the Pilots rolled to a 20-2 win on Saturday, and USF used a late rally to claim the series 5-4 on Sunday.
• During that 20-2 win, Matt Kelly homered and drove in seven runs, which are the most RBI's by a Pilot since 2003.
• Tracye Tammaro and Daniel Lopez also hit a home run as the Pilots scored the most runs in a game since 2006.
• On Sunday, Tammaro homered for the fourth straight game and the Pilots led 4-2 going to the bottom of the eighth inning, but the Dons scored three to claim the comeback win.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• The 20 runs scored Saturday at USF are the most runs by the Pilots since 2006 when they won 20-13 at Oregon State, and it's the most runs for Portland against a WCC opponent since a 22-11 win at Santa Clara in 2002.
• It's also Portland's largest margin of victory since blanking UC Davis 19-0 in 2006.
• At 15-6, the Pilots have equaled the program's second best record after 21 games; Portland's 1958 squad holds the record with an 18-3 mark, and the Pilots also went 15-6 in 1959, 1969, 1980, and 2010.
• Portland's recent seven-game winning streak was the longest stretch without a loss for the Pilots since 2010,
• Matt Kelly made history against the Dons last Saturday when he collected an impressive seven RBI's, which are the most by a Pilot since Kory Casto also drove in seven runs during a game in 2003.
• Freshman Tracye Tammaro has homered in four straight games, and his last four hits have all been home runs.
• Portland's sweep at home against Northern Colorado (March 8-10) was the first four-game series sweep for the Pilots since taking four from Eastern Oregon in 1982, and it was 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 (March 10); 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 1.73 ERA, he has 39 K's in 36.1 innings, and he's holding the opposition to a .168 batting average; he's tied for most wins nationally and most complete games (2).
• The Pilots are currently third in the nation in doubles (51), are 14th in home runs (24), and rank 22nd in ERA (2.98).
• They lead the WCC in doubles, home runs, slugging percentage (.444), and ERA, and they're second in runs (144/6.9), stolen bases (26), double plays (17), and WHIP (1.23).
• Cody Hawken is tied for fourth nationally in hit-by-pitches (11) and he's just six shy of setting UP's career mark in that category; Hawken has been plunked 39 times in his career, while the program leader Cory Lunde (1999-2002) claims 44 HBP's.
• Portland closer Connor Knutson is eighth in the country with six saves, and Chad Stevens ranks 25th in runs scored (24).
• 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 BYU Cougars lost two of three at home to Gonzaga last weekend before outlasting Utah Valley 14-13 in 10 innings at UVU on Tuesday.
• Brian Hsu is hitting .415 to lead BYU, who are batting .282 as a team; Brian Hill boasts a .382 average, Jackson Cluff has a team-best 20 RBI's, and Brock Hale leads the team with three HR's.
• Opponents are batting .234, and the Cougars have a staff ERA of .234.
• Mike Littlewood is in his seventh year as head coach, and the Cougars were picked to finish sixth in the WCC.