PORTLAND PILOTS (7-1)
WEEK 3 GAME NOTES

vs. Fresno State Bulldogs (4-4)
Dates: Fri-Sun, March 4-6
Location: Fresno, Calif.
Ballpark: Bob Bennett Stadium
Video: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Series: FRESNO leads 10-5-0
Last: POR 4, FRESNO 2  (March 12, 2009 @FRESNO)

Friday • March 4 • 6:05 PM
POR: RHP Eli Morse (2-0, 4.50)
FRESNO: LHP Jake Dixon (0-1, 2.61)

Saturday • March 5 • 6:05 PM
POR: RHP Brett Gillis (2-0, 2.45)
FRESNO: LHP Ixan Henderson (1-1, 1.69)

Sunday • March 6 • 1:05 PM
POR: LHP Caleb Franzen (1-1, 4.82)
FRESNO: LHP Nikoh Mitchell (0-1, 16.62)

THIS WEEK IN PILOT BASEBALL
• The Pilots are headed to Fresno, California for a three-game series against the Fresno State Bulldogs.
• The two teams will start the series on Friday, March 4 with first pitch at 6:05 p.m. They'll play at the same time on Saturday before finishing the series on Sunday starting at 1:05 pm.
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live streams and stats.

NEXT UP IN PILOTS BASEBALL 
• The Pilots will be back in Oregon momentarily for a one-off game against the Oregon Ducks in Eugene.
• The two teams will play on Tuesday, March 8 at 4 p.m. 
• Check PortlandPilots.com for live streams and stats.

ABOUT THE PILOTS 
• The Pilots are 7-1 to start the year, most recently winning their midweek matchup against the Cal Poly Mustangs. 
• Portland rallied in the ninth inning to steal a win in San Luis Obispo, bolstered by six shutout innings from their bullpen and a go-ahead run from Briley Knight in the top of the ninth.
• This past weekend, the Pilots bested the San Jose State Spartans two games to one.
• The standout performer against San Jose State was RHP Brett Gillis, who helped the Pilots earn an 11-4 win after going six innings with only two hits and no runs allowed and 10 strikeouts
• Gillis was the only WCC pitcher to throw 10 strikeouts with no runs allowed in six innings or more. He earned WCC Pitcher of the Week honors for his performance.
• Gillis is currently fourth in the WCC in strikeouts (16) and sixth in strikeouts per nine innings (13.09).
• Ben Patacsil remains the top batter for the Pilots at .400 on the year with a double, home run and four RBI's.
• The Pilots currently lead the WCC in walks (54) and sac flies (6), rank second in runs (68) and on base percentage (.417) and third in WHIP (1.25) and batting average (.279).
• Among notable individual rankings, Jake Tsukada ranks first in runs (12), Ty Saunders is tied for first in triples (2) and walks (8) and Nick Nygard is first in walks allowed per nine innings (0.75) and second in strikeout-to-walk ratio (12.00).
• 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.
• Brown has batted .231 with a home run and eight RBI's over three weeks.
• 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 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 sixth all-time in total strikeouts (213), ninth all-time in program history in strikeouts per nine innings (8.41) and 10th in saves (eight).
• 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
• Caleb Franzen is another hurler poised for a breakout season with the Pilots. Last season, he was third in the WCC in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.82) and fourth in walks allowed per nine innings (1.65).
• The Pilots also return Trace Tammaro, who sat out almost all of last season due to a back injury. The redshirt sophomore batted .333 with a team-leading seven home runs in 2020. He had a home run in Game 2 against San Jose State
• 2022 marks the seventh year at the helm for head coach Geoff Loomis.
• With 117 career wins, 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 Fresno State Bulldogs are an even 4-4 on the season.
• They hit .279 as a team with a staff ERA of 3.99.
• Their strikeout-to-walk ratio is tops in the Mountain West Conference at 2.79.
• Mike Batesole is in his 20th season as head coach of the Bulldogs.