PORTLAND PILOTS (10-8)?vs. OREGON DUCKS (10-4) 
Date: Tue, Mar. 23 
Time: 4 PM
Location: Eugene, Ore. 
Ballpark: PK Park 
Live Video: PortlandPilots.com
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: UO leads 23-11 
Last: UO 4, POR 1 (May 7, 2019 @UO) 

PROBABLE STARTERS (2021 W-L, ERA) 
POR: RHP Jack Folkins (0-0, 0.00) 
ORE: RHP RJ Gordon (0-0, 0.00) 
 
THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL 
• The Pilots are headed to Eugene, Ore. for a midweek game against the Oregon Ducks. 
• The two teams will play on Tuesday, Mar. 23 at 4 p.m. 
• A video stream and live stats will be available for the game, and links can be found at?PortlandPilots.com. 

NEXT WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL 
• The Pilots will play a weekend series against the Santa Clara Broncos from Friday, Mar. 26 through Sunday, Mar. 28 
• Game one of the series will start on Friday at 6 p.m., game two will take place on Saturday at 2 p.m. and game three will be on Sunday at 12 p.m. 
• Live stats and video links will be available at PortlandPilots.com 
 
ABOUT THE PILOTS 
• Junior RHP Eli Morse picked up saves in three straight games in Portland's sweep of Utah Valley last weekend. Morse moved from starter to the bullpen this year and has dazzled with only one run allowed in 13 innings. He has 12 strikeouts with just eight hits and one walk allowed. His five saves are tied for the fourth in the nation. 
• Portland leads the WCC in ERA (3.32) and shutouts (3). 
• The top three Pilots in batting average to this point are all freshmen: Ben Patacsil (.382), Sam Brown (.364) and Jake Tsukada (.357). 
• Tsukada tied the single game record for most hits by a Pilot in a single game last Friday against Pacific with six hits and reached a base on 10 straight plate appearances, also thought to be the most in program history. 
• The Pilots had an overall impressive weekend against Pacific at the plate. The Pilots had a season-high 21 hits in Friday's matchup and a season-high 18 runs in their Sunday game. 
• The pitching staff for the Pilots was also strong against the Tigers. They only allowed 10 runs over the course of three games and totaled 30 strikeouts during that span. 
• Sophomore LHP Bradley McVay has put together three quality starts to solidify his spot in the rotation. He tossed seven shutouts innings with just three hits at Gonzaga to pick up the win. McVay then struck out a career-high 11 batters in six innings for another win on Saturday against Utah Valley. He also earned his third win of the season and tallied seven strikeouts in his start against Pacific last Saturday.
• Senior RHP Christian Peters has 26 strikeouts in 30.2 innings pitched. He recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts in seven shutout innings to defeat Utah Valley last weekend. 
• Junior shortstop Chad Stevens had the hot bat at the plate against Pacific. He was 9-17 at the plate with four extra base hits and a home run in the Sunday game. He is now batting .348 and leads the team in slugging percentage (.609), extra base hits (12), RBIs (15) and OPS (1.009) 
• Peters, 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 entered 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, Morse ranks ninth all-time in K's per 9.0 innings (8.13), and he's 11th in fewest walks per nine (2.42). 
• The Pilots lost only five players from last year's roster and return 28 letterwinners, including all nine position starters and almost the entire pitching staff. 
• 2021 marks the sixth year at the helm for head coach Geoff Loomis whose 97 career wins ranks third all-time 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). 
• Joe Etzel Field, UP'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. 
• In 2014, updates included the installation of AstroTurf, new fencing, bullpens, a scoreboard, and a grass berm down the right field line, while new lights were added in 2016. 
 
ABOUT THE OPPONENT 
• The Oregon Ducks are 10-4 to start the season. 
• They are hitting .260, have a staff ERA of 3.14 and are holding opponents to a .230 batting average. 
• Kenyon Yovan is the top batter for the Tigers, leading the club in batting average (.444), slugging percentage (.1000), total bases (36) and RBIs (16). 
• Mark Wasikowski is in his second season as Oregon's head coach. 
 
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 third 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, belting seven dingers in 16 games to rank eighth in the country; his 22 RBI's were good for 16th nationally.