PORTLAND PILOTS (0-0)
WEEK 1 GAME NOTES
 
vs. Nevada Wolf Pack (0-0)
Dates:   Fri-Sun, Feb. 14-16, 2019
First Pitches: 11 AM/1 PM/11 AM
Location: Ridgefield, Wash.
Ballpark: Ridgefield Sports Complex
Video: N/A
Online: Audio I Live Stats
Series: NEV leads 4-2
Last: NEV 9-2, POR 7-4 (March 10 & 12, 2006 at Nevada)
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (2019 W-L, ERA)
Friday • Feb. 14 • 11 AM • Game 1
POR: RHP Eli Morse (2-8, 3.52)
NEV: RHP Owen Sharts (3-8, 5.96)
 
Friday • Feb. 14 • Appx. 2 PM • Game 2
POR: RHP Christian Peters (2-4, 3.12)
NEV: RHP Jake Jackson (1-3, 7.36)
 
Saturday • Feb. 15 • 1 PM
POR: RHP Nate Packard (3-1, 5.73)
NEV: RHP Shane O'Malley (N/A)
 
Sunday • Feb. 16 • 11 AM
POR: TBA
NEV: TBA
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots open the 2020 season with a four-game non-conference series against the Nevada Wolf Pack at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex in Ridgefield, Wash.
• Weather has forced the Pilots and Wolf Pack to adjust the schedule as they'll open the series with a double header on Friday, with the first game set for 11 a.m.
• The Pilots and Wolf Pack will then play one game on Saturday at 1 p.m., and Sunday's series finale is scheduled for 11 a.m.
• Links for live audio and live stats for all four games can be found at PortlandPilots.com.
 
THIS SEASON IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• Due to the on-going construction of Joe Etzel Field the Pilots will be playing "home" games throughout the greater Portland area and Southwest Washington.
• The Pilots will be playing two series at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex in Ridgefield, Wash. (Feb. 14-16 & Feb. 28-March 1), two series at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro (Feb. 20-22 & March 26-28), and they'll play one series at Goss Stadium in Corvallis, Ore. (March 13-15).
• Additionally, the Pilots will be playing two games at Concordia University (March 25 & 30) and another at Ron Tonkin Field (April 21).
• All other home games will be played at Joe Etzel Field, with berm seating only for games in April.
• Ridgefield Notes: Admission is free and concessions will not be available.
• Hillsboro Notes: Admission will be charged ($5 for everyone and seating is all general admission) and concessions will be available for purchase; this does not apply to the game vs. Oregon State on April 21, and for more ticket information on that game please visit PortlandPilots.com/tickets.
• Corvallis Notes: Admission is free.
 
NEXT WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots host the Utah Valley Wolverines next week at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro for a four-game set.
• The series begins with one game on Thursday at 1 p.m., a double header is scheduled for Friday at 11 a.m., and Saturday's finale will start at 1 p.m.
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS
• 2020 marks the fifth 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).
• The Pilots won 25 games overall last season, which was the most wins since 2012.
• Portland features 19 returning letterwinners and 16 newcomers.
• Junior shortstop Chad Stevens was voted to the 2020 All-West Coast Conference Preseason Team.
• Stevens landed on the All-WCC Second Team and was placed on the initial Brooks Wallace Award Watch List last year; he hit .284 as a sophomore and collected 13 doubles, a triple, 12 stolen bases, and 36 runs scored, which are the ninth most in a single season in Portland program history.
• Sophomore Tracye Tammaro also earned all-conference recognition last year, landing on the league's all-freshman team after hitting .261 overall with five home runs, 26 RBI's, a triple, and 11 doubles in his first year with the Pilots.
• Tammaro's on-base percentage of .407 was a team-high, and his 409 putouts at first base rank 10th on the program's single-season chart.
• During one stretch last season Tammaro homered in four straight games.
• Portland features a deep pitching staff, led by senior reliever Connor Knutson and junior starter Eli Morse.
• Knutson enters the year with 18 career saves, which are just six shy of matching the program's all-time record.
• Last year he compiled 10 saves, three wins, and a 2.85 ERA, and he was named to NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List
• Morse has a career ERA of 3.57, he ranks seventh all-time for UP baseball in fewest walks per nine innings (2.18), and his 8.03 K's per nine innings are No. 10 on the Portland charts.
• The Pilots led the WCC in home runs last season with 52; junior catcher Hunter Montgomery belted a team-high nine homers.
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Nevada Wolf Pack went 30-26 in 2019 and finished fourth in the Mountain West Conference with a 14-16 league mark.
• Nevada was picked to finish third in the Mountain West this year, and Jaylon McLaughlin, Joshua Zamora, and Dillan Shrum were selected to the league's all-preseason team.
• McLaughlin hit a team-best .339 last season and earned first-team all-conference.
• Nevada hit .269 as a team and had a staff ERA of 4.60 in 2019.
• 10 letterwinners returned and 19 newcomers joined the squad.
• Head coach T.J. Bruce enters his fifth year at the helm of the Nevada program.
 
THE NEW ETZ: COMPLETION DATE 2020
• Joe Etzel Field, Portland baseball's home since 1988, has undergone some upgrades during the past few years, including the first two phases of a three-phase, long-term plan.
• Phase one in 2014 included the installation of AstroTurf, new fencing, bullpens, a scoreboard and a grass berm for seating down the right field line, while new lights were phase two in 2016.
• The final phase of the new Joe Etzel field is still on-going, and when finished the upgraded facility will feature the addition of new seating, concourse, press box, ticketing office, dugouts, and a refreshed plaza surrounding the stadium.