SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The Portland Pilots split their doubleheader against the San Francisco Dons on Saturday, falling in the first game 6-4 but winning the second game 5-4. Their record now stands at 19-20 overall and 11-7 in conference play.
The Pilots will have a week off before jumping back into WCC play against the Pepperdine Waves. They'll play a three-game series in Portland starting on Friday, May 7 at 6 p.m. Live stats and video will be available at PortlandPilots.com.
GAME 1 RECAP
San Francisco took the first game of the doubleheader against the Pilots by a score of 6-4. The Pilots pushed the Dons, but gave up a solo shot in the eighth inning that made the lead insurmountable.
Brad McVay took the loss for the Pilots, his second of the year. McVay struck out six batters in six innings, but also allowed five runs and four hits while committing three errors. Peter Allegro also pitched two innings, giving up a run and two hits but striking out four.
Ben Patacsil was the only Pilot to have multiple hits in the first game, going 2-for-5 at the plate. Jake Holcroft also added a home run while Nich Klemp drove in two runs with a double in the second inning.
The Dons once again got on the board in the first with two runs in the bottom of the inning. San Francisco scored first off the failed pickoff attempt by McVay and then again after Jordan Vujovich brought in Jack Winkler despite grounding out. That made it 2-0 Dons.
The Pilots responded quickly with two runs the following inning. With two runners on base, Nich Klemp stepped up to the plate and launched a double to right field, bringing home Patacsil and Ethan Loveless to make it 2-2.
Holcroft got the Pilots the lead with a leadoff homer in the top of the third. Holcroft hit a moonshot over the right field wall for his third dinger of the season, giving the Pilots a 3-2 lead.
It was a lead the Pilots would hold for only three innings, as the Dons responded with three runs in the sixth. Jacob Munoz lined a single to right field with the bases loaded that brought in two runs, then Winkler got home after stealing third, making it to the plate off the throwing error from Klemp. That made it 5-3 Dons.
Portland got back on the board after Briley Knight got Holcroft home thanks to a single and an error in right field, bringing the Pilots back within one. But Vujovich hit a dinger out of Benedetti Diamond in the bottom of the eighth that made it 6-4 San Francisco. Portland loaded the bases in the top of the ninth, but couldn't capitalize, dropping Game 1.
GAME 2 RECAP
The Pilots bounced back and took the second game 5-4. The Dons scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to make things interesting, but Portland staved them off to escape San Francisco with at least one win.
Caleb Franzen earned the win after an excellent performance in relief. Franzen had eight strikeouts in five innings, earning his second win of the year in the process. Brett Gillis started the game for Portland, allowing two runs and four hits while adding four strikeouts in four innings.
Briley Knight was the best Pilot at the plate in Game 2. He was 2-for-5 with two home runs and three RBI's, his first multi-homer game of the season. Ben Patacsil was also 2-for-4 in this one while Sam Brown went 1-for-3 with an RBI double.
For the third straight game, the Dons got the scoring started, this time grabbing two runs in the first inning. Jack Winkler brought in Luke Keaschall on an RBI double and then scored himself off the wild pitch by Gillis. The Dons led 2-0 after one.
The Pilots overtook the Dons after scoring three runs in the third and fourth inning. Knight added Portland's first two runs with a two-run homer in the top of the third, his fourth of the season. Brown then added another run in the fourth inning with a double to left-center field, making it 3-2 Pilots after four.
The bats were silent for the next two innings until Knight stepped back up to the plate. Knight hit another ball over the right-field wall to get his second homer of the day and make it 4-2 Portland.
Portland added one more run in the eighth thanks to an RBI single from Gabe Skoro, padding their lead by three. But the Dons continued to push the Pilots, scoring two runs in the bottom of the eighth to make it 5-4 Pilots. Fortunately for Portland, Franzen and company were able to fend off the Dons to take the second game.
