SAN JOSE, Calif. – The Portland Pilots (6-0) earned their sixth win in a row to start the year over the San Jose Spartans (4-3) with an 11-4 drubbing at Excite Ballpark. The Pilots are 6-0 to start the year for the first time since 2011.
Brett Gillis earned the win after a stellar day on the mound. He pitched six full innings with no runs and only two hits allowed and 10 strikeouts. It's the first time a Pilot has reached 10 strikeouts this year and the second time Gillis has done so in his career.
Portland was potent once again offensively, putting up at least 10 runs in a game for the fourth time in six games along with 11 hits. Jake Holcroft was the top batter for the Pilots on the day, going 3-for-4 with three RBI's and two walks. Ben Patacsil was the only other Pilot to earn more than two hits, going 3-for-5 at the plate.
The Pilots did almost all of their scoring early in this one. Things got started in the first inning, when Holcroft found his way home off the wild pitch by Mickey Thompson with the bases loaded. This is the sixth game in a row where the Pilots have scored the opening run.
The next three innings were as good as it gets offensively for the Pilots. They put together 10 runs over three innings to take a commanding 11-0 lead over the Spartans. Three of those runs came in the second, with a walk with the bases loaded leading to one run, a sacrifice fly from Evan Scavotto leading to another and the final run coming off an RBI single from Briley Knight.
The biggest scoring inning came in the third. Five runs came in the third frame, jumpstarted by a solo home run from Trace Tammaro. The moonshot was Tammaro's first of the year and his first since the 2020 season. Ty Saunders and Holcroft each had RBI hits, Sam Brown walked with the bases loaded and Knight brought in a run despite grounding out to make it 9-0 Pilots after three.
The Pilots scored their final two runs in the following inning. Jake Tsukada had a sacrifice fly that brought Tammaro home and Holcroft hit a liner right up the middle to bring in another run to give the Pilots their final score. San Jose State did score four runs in the eighth – three off a home run from Hunter Dorraugh and another off an RBI single by Dalton Bowling – but the Pilots' cushion was enough for a 11-4 win.
The Pilots and Spartans will play their final game tomorrow at 12:05 p.m. Check PortlandPilots.com for a link to live stats.
