PORTLAND PILOTS (21-20, 3-15 WCC)
WEEK 11 GAME NOTES
 
vs. Santa Clara Broncos (9-29, 2-13 WCC)
Dates: Fri-Sun, April 26-68, 2019
First Pitches: 6 PM/6 PM/1 PM
Location: Portland, Ore.
Ballpark: Joe Etzel Field
Video: Game 1  Game 2  Game 3
Stats: Game 1  Game 2  Game 3
Series: SCU leads 52-37
2018: POR 11-9, SCU 7-6, POR 7-6 (March 29-31 at Santa Clara)
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (W-L, ERA)
Friday • April 26 • 6 PM
POR: RHP Chris Clements (7-1, 1.60)
SCU: LHP Russell Grant II (2-3, 2.62)
 
Saturday • April 27 • 6 PM
POR: RHP Eli Morse (2-6, 3.06)
SCU: LHP Holden Bernhardt (2-3, 3.72)
 
Sunday • April 28 • 1 PM
POR: TBA
SCU: TBA
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots host the Santa Clara Broncos for a three-game West Coast Conference series at Joe Etzel Field this weekend.
• The Pilots and Broncos begin the series at 6 p.m. on Friday, Saturday's game is also set for 6 p.m., and first pitch for Sunday's finale is scheduled for 1 p.m.
• Live streams and live stats for all three games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
LAST WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• Henry Cheney and Matt Kelly both homered in the first inning against Washington on Tuesday at Joe Etzel Field, but the Huskies recovered for an 8-3 win.
• The Pilots concluded their WCC series at San Diego with a dominating 20-0 win over the Toreros last Saturday at Fowler Park.
• Cody Hawken hit a grand slam and finished with seven RBI's during the win, Dutton Elske also belted a grand slam and hit another solo homer, and Chris Clements and Connor Knutson combined to hold the Toreros to just one hit.
• The Toreros won Thursday's opener 4-3 in 10 innings and topped the Pilots 10-2 on Friday.
• A two-run blast off the bat of Hunter Montgomery in the seventh tied the score Thursday night, sending the game to extra innings.
• Cody Hawken was named the WCC Player of the Week following the series.
 
BARK IN THE PARK
• Sunday's game with Santa Clara at Joe Etzel Field will feature the first ever Bark in the Park promotion, which will allow fans to bring their four-legged companions to the game.
• Fans who plan to bring their dogs to the ballpark will need to fill out a waiver in advance, which can be found along with more information at PortlandPilots.com/Bark.
• Tickets, which will get both the human and dog into the stadium, are $10, and they can be purchased at PortlandPilots.com/Tickets or by calling 503-943-7525.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Junior closer Connor Knutson was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year midseason watch list; Knutson has eight saves this season with a 1.37 ERA, and his 16 career saves are tied for second most in program history.
• Cody Hawken is the WCC Player of the Week after batting .417 with a home run, two doubles, and eight RBI's last week at USD.
• During Saturday's 20-0 win over the Toreros, Hawken hit a grand slam, collected a pair of doubles, and drove in seven runs, which ties the third most RBI's in a game in program history.
• The 20-0 win is believed to be a program record for the largest margin of victory during a shutout over a DI opponent.
• The 20 runs are also the second largest margin of victory overall against a DI opponent in program history; in 1958 the Pilots won 28-4 at Portland State.
• The Pilots have scored 20 runs in a game twice this season, winning 20-0 at San Diego (April 20) and 20-2 at San Francisco (March 16); it's the first time in program history (at least since 1935) to score 20 runs twice in the same year.
• Redshirt-senior right-hander Chris Clements was the Rawlings WCC Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season on April 1 after collecting a pair of W's against No. 8 Oregon State and LMU.
• In 10.0 total innings against the Beavers and Lions, Clements surrendered just two earned runs, gave up only three hits, K'd eight, and walked one.
• Clements previously nabbed back-to-back league pitcher of the week awards after tossing consecutive complete games (March 2 & 10).
• Clements' complete-game shutout against Northern Colorado on March 10 was the first shutout by a Pilot pitcher since 2015.
• Clements, a transfer who's in his first and only year with the Pilots, is 7-1 with a 1.60 ERA, he has 61 K's in 67.1 innings, and he's holding the opposition to a .165 batting average; he ranks fourth nationally in WHIP (0.79), is 11th in wins, 13th in complete games (2), and is 15th in hits per 9.0 (5.21) and ERA (1.60).
• He also leads the WCC in wins and WHIP, and he's second in complete games and ERA.
• Portland opened the year 15-5, which equaled the program's second best record ever after 20 games; Portland's 1958 squad holds the record with an 17-3 mark, and the Pilots also went 15-5 in 1969.
• Portland's seven-game winning streak earlier this season was the longest stretch without a loss for the Pilots since 2010.
• Cody Hawken is the second Pilot with seven RBI's in a game this season after Matt Kelly made history on March 16 when he drove in seven runs at USF; it was the most RBI's by a Pilot since Kory Casto also collected seven RBI's during a game in 2003.
• Earlier this year, freshman Tracye Tammaro homered in four straight games (March 13-17).
• 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.
• Cody Hawken was plunked at San Diego (April 18) for the 44th time in his career, which matches Cory Lunde (1999-2002) for the program's all-time record; Hawken ranks ninth nationally in hit-by-pitches (16) and he's quickly approaching the program single-season record of 19.
• The Pilots lead the WCC in home runs (43) and double plays (35).
• 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).
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Santa Clara Broncos took one of three from Gonzaga at home last weekend, and they defeated Cal Poly on Tuesday.
• The Broncos are hitting .218 as a team, opponents are batting .267, and their staff ERA is 4.28.
• Jason Dicochea is hitting a team-best .268, while Jake MacNichols leads the Broncos in home runs (11) and RBI's (19).
• Rusty Filter is in his second year as head coach at Santa Clara.