PORTLAND PILOTS (3-7)
WEEK 4 GAME NOTES
 
vs. Utah Valley Wolverines (2-5)
Dates: Fri-Sun, Mar. 12-14
Location: Portland, Ore.
Ballpark: Joe Etzel Field
Live Video: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4
Series: POR leads 13-10
Last: POR 11, UTV 1 - Feb. 22, 2020 vs. @ POR
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (2021 W-L, ERA)
Friday • Mar. 12 • 1 PM 
POR: RHP Brett Gillis (1-2, 4.22)
UTV: RHPJesse Schmitt (1-1, 7.71)
 
Saturday • Mar. 13 • 12 PM • Game 1
POR: RHP Christian Peters (1-2, 1.21)
UTV: RHP Nick Sims (1-1, 6.75)
 
Saturday • Mar. 13 • 1 PM • Game 2
POR: RHP Nick Brink (0-0, 9.00)
UTV: RHP Bobby Voortmeyer (0-1, 2.38)

Sunday • Mar. 14 • 12 PM
POR: LHP Brad McVay (1-0, 1.50)
UTV: RHP Mason Gray (0-2, 5.63)

THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots are back at Joe Field this weekend for a four-game non-conference series against the Utah Valley Wolverines.
• The two teams will start the series with a game on Friday, Mar. 12 at 1 PM. • Following that, they'll play a Saturday double-header on Mar. 13 at 12 PM and 3:30 PM, and will close the series with a Sunday matchup on Mar. 14 at 12 PM.
• A video stream and live stats will be available for all four games, and links can be found at PortlandPilots.com.

NEXT WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots will stay home for a home game against the Washington State Cougars at Joe Etzel Field.
• The Pilots and Cougars will play one game on Wednesday, Mar. 17 at 3 PM.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Senior pitcher Christian Peters, junior shortstop Chad Stevens, sophomore first baseman Tracye Tammaro, and redshirt-freshman outfielder Jake Holcroft were all voted to the 2021 All-West Coast Conference Preseason Baseball Team.
• The Pilots tied Pepperdine for the most players on the all-league preseason team, and it's the second straight year to earn the honor for Stevens.
• The Pilots as a team were selected to finish seventh in the annual poll of the league's 10 head coaches.
• Senior closer Connor Knutson enters the year second all-time in program history with 22 career saves; the right-hander is just two stops shy of matching career leader Chris Dennis, who compiled 24 saves from 2010-11.
• Elsewhere on the program's career charts, junior pitcher Eli Morse ranks ninth all-time in K's per 9.0 innings (8.12), and he's 12th in fewest walks per nine (2.48).
• The Pilots lost only five players from last year's roster and return 28 letterwinnners, including all nine positon starters and almost the entire pitching staff .
• The team added 12 newcomers to the roster.
• 2021 marks the sixth year at the helm for head coach Geoff Loomis.
• With 90 career wins, Loomis already ranks third all-time for coaching wins at Portland. • The 25 wins the Pilots recorded in 2019 are the most in a season since 2012. • Loomis is a Portland baseball alum and UP Athletics Hall of Fame member who still holds the UP program career record for batting average (.376).
• Jacob Dobmeier pitched a solid outing in his fi rst start against Washington, with only two runs allowed and three strikeouts in six innings.
• Brad McVay has also had a strong start, posting a team-low 1.50 ERA and earning a win in his only start
• Sam Brown has a hit in all seven games that he's appeared in for the Pilots, leads the team in slugging percentage (.542) and is second in batting average (.375).
• Ben Patacsil leads the Pilots in batting average (.407) and on-base percentage (.448)
• Jake Tsukada is the team leader in total hits (15) and total bases (15) while and is batting .351 on the year.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT
• The Utah Valley Wolverines are 2-5 to start the 2021 season.
• They are hitting .159, have a staff ERA of 4.97 and are holding opponents to a .269 batting average.
• Mitch Moralez leads the team in batting average at .320 while Alexander Marco has a team-high four RBIs.
• Eric Madsen is in his 13th season as coach of the Wolverines.

LAST SEASON IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots were off to a great start last year with a 12-4 record before the season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• At the end of the abbreviated season, the Pilots were among the nation's leaders in hitting, pitching, and fielding.
• They were seventh in the country in home runs (23) and 25th in slugging percentage (.471).
• On the hill their hits allowed per nine innings (6.7) was 23rd, and the staff ERA (2.62) ranked 27th.
• Individually, Jake Holcroft was one of the best hitters in the country en route to nabbing Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-American recognition; he hit a torrid .484 at the plate, which ranked third in the country, and his 30 hits were the third most nationally.
• Holcroft was Portland's first freshman All-American since 2012.
• Christian Peters was nearly flawless on the mound, going 3-1 in four starts with a minuscule 0.63 ERA; he struck out 35 in 28.2 total innings, walked only three, and allowed just three earned runs to rank 24th nationally in ERA.
• Tracye Tammaro was among the nation's leaders in home runs, belong seven dingers in 16 games to rank eighth in the country; his 22 RBI's were good for 16th nationally.

THE NEW ETZ
• Since we last saw Joe Etzel Field, Portland baseball's home site since 1966 has undergone some upgrades as the University concluded a three-phase, long-term renovation project.
• The final and most recent phase of the project features the addition of new seating, concourse, press box, ticketing office, dugouts, and a refreshed plaza surrounding the stadium.
• 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.
• The addition of new lights to the facility were phase two in 2016.