PORTLAND PILOTS (15-5)
WEEK 6 GAME NOTES

vs. San Francisco Dons (12-11)
Dates: Fri-Sun, Mar 25-27
Location: Portland, Ore.
Ballpark: Joe Etzel Field
Video: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Series: USF leads 64-32-0
Last: POR 5, USF 4 (April 24, 2021 @USF)

PROBABLE STARTERS (2022 W-L, ERA) 
Friday • March 25 • 6 PM
POR: LHP Caleb Franzen (1-3, 5.31)
USF: RHP Owen Stevenson (1-2, 2.73)

Saturday • March 26 • 1 PM
POR: RHP Brett Gillis (4-1, 1.45)
USF: LHP Weston Lombard (2-2, 3.57)

Sunday • March 27 • 1 PM
POR: RHP Eli Morse (4-0, 3.90)
USF: RHP Jesse Barron (3-1, 3.60)

THIS WEEK IN PILOTS BASEBALL 
• The Pilots host the San Francisco Dons this weekend for their second WCC series of the season.
•  They'll play on Friday at 6 p.m. followed by games on Saturday and Sunday that have first pitches set for 1 p.m.
• Sunday's game will also be televised on Portland's CW.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live streams and stats.

NEXT UP IN PILOTS BASEBALL 
• The Pilots finish their homestand with their final game against Washington.
•  The two teams will face on Tuesday, March 29 at 5 p.m. on Portland's CW.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for a live stream and stats.

ABOUT THE PILOTS 
• The Pilots are 15-5 to start the year after taking down the Seattle U Redhawks in their latest showdown.
• Prior to that, the Pilots took down the BYU Cougars in their first WCC series of the season two games to one.
• This is their best record through 20 games since the 2012 season and the best record up to this point for a Pilot team led by Geoff Loomis. They were ranked 49th in the latest College Baseball Nation Top 50 national poll.
• The work on the mound against BYU was top notch from the Pilots, with several pitchers putting together season-best performances over the weekend.
• Brett Gillis continued his stellar start to the year by pitching seven innings with only one run and three hits allowed and 12 strikeouts. That strikeout total matches both a season and career-high for the righty.
• Gillis has posted an impressive 1.45 ERA with a 4-1 record and 43 strikeouts in five starts. He is second in ERA in the WCC, fifth in total strikeouts and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.38) and seventh in strikeouts per nine innings (12.48).
• Eli Morse also pitched six innings last Saturday with only one run and two hits allowed and six strikeouts. He improved to 4-0 on the season.
• At the plate, Ben Patacsil hit half the balls that came his way against BYU, posting a batting average of .500. It's the second series this year where he's batted at least .500 or better.
• Patacsil is the top qualified batter for Portland with a slash line of .364/.431/.489 (BA/SLG/OBP).
• The Pilots are currently first in the WCC in walks (93) and win-loss percentage (.750), second in hits (195), batting average (.288), fielding percentage (.976) and on-base percentage (.390) and third in runs (121).
• Among other notable individual rankings, Peter Allegro is first in the WCC and fifth in the nation in saves (6).
• Sophomore Sam Brown and senior Eli Morse were both named to the All-WCC Preseason Team this season. The Pilots as a team were picked to finish sixth in the conference in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The sixth-place ranking marks the first time since 2003 that the Pilots were slated to finish in the top six. It's the first time since the conference also expanded to 10 teams in 2013.
• The Pilots return 28 players while adding 10 newcomers from last year's squad, including seven players who earned All-WCC honors last year. Seven position starters return along with 11 total pitchers.
• Morse returns after leading the WCC in saves last season with eight. He was among the nation's leaders in the category as well for most of the year.
• Morse is fourth all-time in total strikeouts (232), ninth all-time in program history in strikeouts per nine innings (8.49) and 10th in saves (eight). He is sixth in the WCC in strikeouts this season with 34.
• Brown is batting .277 with a team-high three home runs and 14 RBI's. He had two homers in the BYU series and a 4-for-5 outing against Seattle U.
• Jake Tsukada, Ben Patacsil and Jake Holcroft were among the top batters for the Pilots, batting .282, .263 and .262 as freshmen.
• Tsukada also tied the school record for hits in a games last season against the Pacific Tigers with six. He is the first Pilot who played Division I baseball to do so.
• Holcroft batted an astounding .484 in a shortened 2020 season and was named a Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-American. Against San Jose State, he batted .455 with four RBI's
• 2022 marks the seventh year at the helm for head coach Geoff Loomis.
• With 126 career wins as Portland's skipper, Loomis already ranks fourth all-time for coaching wins at Portland.
• 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).

LAST SEASON IN PILOTS BASEBALL 
• The Pilots went 24-26 overall last season with a 14-13 record in WCC play.
• Their fifth-place finish in the WCC was their best full-season finish since head coach Geoff Loomis took over the Pilots and their best since 2011. Their 14 wins in WCC player were also the most for the team since 2010.
• The Pilots had nine players earn All-WCC recognition, with shortstop Chad Stevens most notably earning first team recognition. First baseman Sam Brown and starting pitcher Christian Peters both named to the All-WCC Second Team.
• Stevens batted a team-high .333 with with 67 hits, eight home runs, 19 doubles and 29 RBI's. His total hits and doubles both were tops in the WCC and he was also second in extra-base hits (27) and total bases (110).
• Stevens was subsequently drafted in the 11th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros. The last Pilot to get drafted was Beau Brundage in 2018.
• Brown put together one of the best seasons by a freshman in the conference, batting .315 with five home runs, 16 doubles and a triple. Among freshman, he was first in doubles (fifth overall), second in extra-base hits (22), third in slugging percentage (.495) and fifth in batting average.
• Brown made the Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-American baseball team as well, becoming the third Pilot to do so since 2012.
• Peters was among the top hurlers, with the second best ERA in the WCC at 2.63. He was also fourth in WHIP (1.12) and strikeouts (78). He was one of only three pitchers to earn WCC Pitcher of the Week honors multiple times last year.
• The other six players to earn All-WCC recognition were pitcher Peter Allegro, two-way player Brett Gillis, left fielder Jake Holcroft, center fielder Briley Knight, pitcher Eli Morse and second baseman Jake Tsukada. Brown, Holcroft and Tsukada all made the All-WCC Freshman Team.
• As a whole, the team ranked second in the WCC in strikeouts per nine innings (9.6), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.93), WHIP (1.31) and walks allowed per nine innings (3.28). Their four shutouts also ranked third in the WCC.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT 
• The San Francisco Dons are 12-11 on the season and 1-2 against WCC opponents.
• They hit .246 as a team with a staff ERA of 5.50.
• They dropped their first WCC series of the season to the Santa Clara Broncos before being routed most recently 20-2 by the Nevada Wolfpack.
• Luke Keaschall has been on a tear to start the season, leading the conference in doubles (10), walks (24) and stolen bases (16).
• Mat Keplinger is the interim head caoch for the Dons.