SAN JOSE, Calif. – It was a high-scoring affair for the Portland Pilots (5-0) as they took down the San Jose State Spartans (4-2) 15-6 in the opening game of the series. The Pilots are 5-0 to start the season for the first time since 2012.
Six Pilots accumulated two hits or more on the day, with Pilots totaling 13 as a team. Sam Brown impressed with a 2-for-3 outing and four RBI's while Evan Scavotto also added three RBI's on 1-for-5 hitting. 10 different Pilots recorded an RBI today.
Eli Morse earned the win after pitching six innings with five runs allowed and seven strikeouts. The win is Morse's second of the year. Ethan Ross took the loss for the Spartans, his first of the year.
The Pilots opened the scoring in the first inning with two runs. With Scavotto and Jake Tsukada on base, Brown stepped to the plate and ripped a liner to right field to bring both runners home. Brown's big hit gave Portland an early two-run lead.
San Jose State responded in the second inning with three runs of their own. Danny Zimmerman had an RBI double to bring in one run, then Robert Hamchuck hit a ball that snuck through to center field that brought in two more runs. The Spartans took a 3-2 lead.
That lead did not last long. Portland put together five runs in the top of the third to retake the lead. Two runs came off of walks with the bases loaded, one came off a fielder's choice that allowed Henry Muench to score and two more came off RBI singles from Jake Holcroft and Scavotto respectively. The Pilots flipped the game on its head with the big inning, taking a 7-3 lead.
San Jose State earned two more runs before the Pilots built on their lead again with a big fifth inning. Scavotto and Muench each had sacrifice hits that brought in a run while Boetto got the RBI single with a shot to left field that brought in Holcroft. That gave the Pilots a 10-5 lead, marking their fourth game this year with at least 10 runs scored.
The Pilots had one more big inning in the top of the sixth, adding five more runs. Scavotto was walked with the bases loaded to bring in the first run, Brown and Gabe Skoro brought in three more with RBI singles and Ethan Loveless had a sac fly as a pinch hitter to put the Pilots at 15. The Spartans would get one more run off a solo homer in the ninth inning from Hunter Dorraugh before falling to the Pilots 15-6.
The Pilots and the Spartans will face off again tomorrow at 2:05 p.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for the link for live stats.
