PORTLAND PILOTS (22-24, 13-11 WCC) VS. OREGON STATE BEAVERS (32-17, 14-10 PAC-12) 
Date: Tues, May 18
Location: Portland, Ore.
Ballpark: Joe Etzel Field
Live Video: WCC Network
Live Stats: PortlandPilots.com
Series: OSU leads 158-58-1
Last: OSU 5, POR 0 (Apr. 20, 2021 @OSU)

PROBABLE STARTERS (2021 W-L, ERA)
Tuesday • May 18 • 5 PM
POR: RHP Jack Folkins (0-1, 2.45)
OSU: RHP Jack Washburn (3-1, 2.79)

THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Portland Pilots are set for their home finale against the Oregon State Beavers.
• The two teams will play on Tuesday, May 18 at 5 p.m.
• Live stats and video will be available at PortlandPilots.com.

LATER THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL
• The Pilots will then head to San Diego for their series against the San Diego Toreros starting on Thursday, May 20 at 6 p.m.
• They will then play on Friday, May 21 and Saturday, May 22 at 6 p.m. as well
• Check PortlandPilots.com for links to live stats and video.

ABOUT THE PILOTS
• Portland's 13 wins in WCC play is the best conference record since 2010 and the best since Geoff Loomis took over as head coach in 2016.
• Junior shortstop Chad Steven has been locked in at the plate this season, twice earning WCC Player of the Week honors. The Fox Island, Wash. native most recently won the award on Apr. 12 after batting 11-for-18 the week prior with a pair of four-hit games.
• Stevens leads the Pilots in several stats at the plate, including batting average (.328) total hits (61), doubles (17), home runs (8), RBI's (29) and slugging percentage (.548). Amongst the WCC, he is first in doubles (17th nationally), total hits and total bases (102).
• Freshman first baseman Sam Brown has been electric in his first season on The Bluff. Brown ranks second on the team in batting average (.313), hits (52), doubles (13) and slugging percentage (.476).
• Portland is second in the WCC in shutouts (4), WHIP (1.32), walks allowed per nine innings (3.29) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.95).
• LHP Brad McVay is second in the WCC in wins this season with six. He has posted a 3.58 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 12 appearances (10 starts) this year.
• Senior RHP Christian Peters won WCC Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 30 for his stellar performance against the Santa Clara Broncos. On Mar. 26, the senior matched his career-high for strikeouts with 11 in eight shutout innings.
• Peters has four wins on the year with a 2.89 ERA and 70 strikeouts. He is fourth in the WCC in ERA and seventh in strikeouts.
• Junior RHP Eli Morse has shined in relief after making the move to the bullpen this year. He is 22nd nationally and tops the WCC in saves with eight.
• Sophomore RHP Peter Allegro was named WCC Pitcher of the week on May 10 for his stellar relief performance against the Pepperdine Waves on May 7. Allegro earned a save after pitching 4.2 scoreless innings, striking out eight batters in the process.
• Two of the top three batters for the Pilots are freshmen: Brown (.313) and Jake Tsukada (.301).
• Tsukada tied the single-game record for most hits by a Pilot on Friday, Mar. 19 against Pacific with six hits and reached a base on 10 straight plate appearances, also thought to be the most in program history.
• Peters, Stevens, sophomore first baseman Tracye Tammaro, and redshirt freshman left fielder 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, Peters and Morse rank eighth and ninth respectively for most strikeouts per nine innings. Peters sits at 8.70 and Morse at 8.36.
• 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 State Beavers are 32-17 with a Pac-12 record of 14-10
• They are hitting .283, have a staff ERA of 3.24 and are holding opponents to a .211 batting average.
• Most recently, the Beavers went 1-2 against the Arizona State Sun Devils, dropping the first two games but avoiding the sweep thanks to an 11-4 victory.
• The Beavers have one of the best pitching staffs in the nation, ranking tops in the conference in ERA, WHIP (1.17) hits allowed per nine innings (6.88) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.1). They are also seventh nationally in ERA and WHIP and fourth in hits allowed per nine innings.
• Redshirt Sophomore RHP Kevin Abel has been the top pitcher for the Beavers this season. He leads the conference gaemes started (13), strikeouts (90), strikeouts per nine innings (12.27) and hits allowed per nine innings (5.32).
• Mitch Canham is in his second season as head coach of the Beavers.

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.